Buenos Aires, Feb. 26 (NA) — Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay (2013-2018) and current president of the National Republican Association (ANR-Colorado Party), was admitted today to a private sanatorium in Asunción after suffering a hypertensive crisis, the facility's physician, Eugenio Báez, reported. According to the infectious disease specialist, the 69-year-old Cartes experienced an episode of very high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia in the morning, accompanied by repeated convulsive episodes, which led to the decision to admit him to the intensive care unit. The former head of state was intubated to receive assisted ventilation and anticonvulsant medication; he remains sedated and his condition is described as stable by medical authorities. The clinical plan, according to the treating team, is to keep the patient sedated and on ventilatory support until the cause is identified, treated, and he is stabilized, after which the medication will be progressively withdrawn. In parallel, Cartes's personal physician, Senator Antonio Barrios, reported that he attended to the former president at his home and assured that he has no history of illness, does not suffer from hypertension, and does not take chronic medication. As a first measure, a contrast magnetic resonance imaging was performed, which showed no signs of ischemia or hemorrhage, so a stroke was ruled out, according to the Argentine News Agency. Doctors also conducted complementary studies to determine the cause of the seizures and arrhythmia, and performed a lumbar puncture to confirm or rule out an infectious condition.
