It may not have been a ‘heart attack” for Corona, says doctor

Medical City doctors of Chief Justice Renato Corona – Dr. Michael Villa, endocrinologist; Dr. Eugenio Jose Ramos, senior vice president of Medical Services Group of The Medical City; and Dr. Mariann Almajar, cardiologist, released a medical bulletin on Corona's health condition Wednesday when he was rushed to the hospital and a day after he testified at the Senate over alleged misdeclaration of his SALN . JAMIE MARIE ELONA/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – What doctors of Chief Justice Renato Corona thought was a “possible heart attack” early Wednesday may not be the case at all.

“At the moment, there are no signs that he had a heart attack, but what we are saying is that his heart function is not normal . . . [and] can go bad at anytime when he is under stress,” said Dr. Eugenio Jose Ramos, senior vice president of Medical Services Group of The Medical City hospital in Pasig City, where Corona has been confined,.

Ramos said that they have hooked Corona to a heart monitor to examine signs of arrhythmia, characterized by irregular heartbeats known as “irritability of the heart”.

Corona was brought to Medical City Wednesday night, a day after he testified at the Senate, acting as an impeachment court, and was wheeled out due to low blood sugar, experiencing “shortness of breath, cold sweats, and light headedness”, said Ramos.

He also noted that Corona has been a diabetic for the past 20 years, on daily insulin, with complications involving both kidneys and the heart.

Corona was initially diagnosed as having suffered a “possible heart attack” and was brought to the ICU “because he needs to be monitored, said Ramos.

Ramos said patients with a high-risk profile like Corona would have to be monitored for “at least 48 hours”, adding that Corona’s heart function is “really bad” despite two heart bypass surgeries in 1995 and 2008.

“You can already say that the heart can actually be in a position it is in a bad state as far as the risk for heart attack is concerned,” Ramos said.

But as of the moment, Ramos said that Corona’s sugar level was “already under control . . . [he is] awake and his vital signs are stable”.

Ramos said this was why with Corona’s current condition, he was advised not to attend Wednesday’s trial despite Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s ultimatum  that the chief magistrate’s testimony would not be considered when he and the senator-judges deliberate on their verdict for Corona who was charged with, among others, allegedly misdeclaring his statement of assets and liabilities (SALNs).