Pinochet to undergo heart bypass surgery

Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is to undergo heart bypass urgery, doctors decided tonight.

The family of the 91-year-old general authorised the operation after he was admitted to hospital after suffering a heart attack, according to reports, quoting unidentified sources at the Santiago Military Hospital.

The decision came after Pinochet underwent an angioplasty procedure to clear an obstruction of arteries leading to his heart.

In bypass surgery, the chest is cut open and blood vessels are moved to create detours around blockages.

Pinochet was rushed to the hospital earlier today after suffering what doctors called an acute, life-threatening heart attack and an accumulation of fluid in his lungs.

The angioplasty saved Pinochet’s life, according to Marco Antonio Pinochet, the former dictator’s youngest son.

Doctors had called the angioplasty successful, saying Pinochet’s condition was serious but stable. A grandson of the retired general had said he was out of danger.

Pinochet has required a pacemaker for several years.