First Gentleman rushed to St. Luke’s due to heart trouble

(Update 2 – 3:01 p.m.) First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo was rushed to the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City before noon on Thursday due to heart problems, a Palace official told GMANews.TV. Press Secretary Crispulo Icban said Mr. Arroyo had complained of back pains at about 8:30 a.m., prompting him and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to dash to the hospital.
As of posting time, Malacañang had yet to issue a statement on Mr. Arroyo’s condition. The television report said presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo was still trying to find out about his father’s condition. Doctor Rommel Cariño of St. Luke’s said the First Gentleman had suffered from a "redissection of the thoracic aorta and experienced back pains." "The condition calls for intense medical care to control his blood pressure and heart rate to prevent further redissection," Cariño said. He said they were continuously monitoring vital signs to prevent "a rupture that could compress blood supply to other body organs." Icban said Mrs. Arroyo had already canceled her morning engagements, including her attendance at the 22nd Annual Convention of Prosecutors' League of the Philippines at the Manila Hotel at 10 a.m. Justice Secretary Alberto Agra broke the news at the prosecutors' convention at the Manila Hotel that the President would be unable to show up. A GMA News report, meanwhile, said presidential son Mikey Arroyo was still trying to find out about his father’s condition. Arroyo skips AFP engagement The President was no longer attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the 300-hectare Armed Forces of the Philippines housing program in Bulacan at 11:30 a.m. Just the same, Mrs. Arroyo sent word to organizers of the events she was supposed to attend to carry on with the programs without her. Icban said "only the morning affairs are affected so far," adding that it was still unsure whether the President would also cancel her visit to the 4th ASEAN Festival of Arts Grand Cultural Program in Clark, Pampanga at 6 p.m. After that, she still has an 8:30 p.m. engagement for a conference on indigenous people, climate change, and rural poverty at the Crown Plaza in Pasig City. "This is purely a physical condition," Icban said of Arroyo’s ailment. He said today’s incident was more likely connected with his earlier heart operations. Mr. Arroyo underwent a heart surgery in 2007. Icban said the last time he saw Mr. Arroyo was when boxing champion Manny Pacquiao had dropped by Malacañang after returning from his victorious bout with Joshua Clottey in the US. "It was a very happy occasion. He was even laughing... But this is a heart condition. So no one can predict this," he said. The St. Luke’s management was expected to release a medical bulletin later in the day. For his part, Presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo said that no decision has yet been made regarding Arroyo’s participation during the local campaign period. Arroyo is running as second district congressman of Pampanga. “The President will, of course, make sure to monitor and give as much support as she can to the First Gentleman," Saludo said in a Palace briefing. “How that would affect her other activities — whether they have to do with campaigning or the government — we shall have to get further advice on that." He also said that “given the condition (of the First Gentleman), it’s probably something that may require constant observation and intensive treatment that may not allow for social visits." Critics blamed But according to deputy presidential spokesperson Charito Planas, the recent tirades against Mrs. Arroyo had affected the First Gentleman’s health condition. "Sinisisi ko ang mga walang ibang ginawa kundi mambugbog sa kaniya at kay President Arroyo, (I am blaming those who do nothing but to criticize him and President Arroyo)," Planas told GMANews.TV in a separate interview. Planas said the last time she had seen Mr. Arroyo was two days ago and "he looked okay." She also said the First Gentleman seemed to have lost weight. "But that is good because doctors want him to lose weight," she added. — with a report from Johanna Camille Sisante/RSJ/LBG/NPA/RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV