PM resting ‘comfortably’ at home

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley waves to members of the media as he leaves the West Shore Private Medical Hospital, Cocorite, with his wife Sharon, yesterday. (GARY VINCENT)

Trinidad and Tobago Guardian – Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was yesterday discharged after spending almost two days in the hospital.

Rowley, who was admitted to the West Shore Medical Private Hospital in Cocorite after complaining of feeling unwell on Friday evening, was given the all-clear to return home around 10 am, yesterday morning.

Guardian Media understands that he was received by his wife Sharon and left the facility in his official vehicle with a police escort.

Rowley did not stop to speak to media personnel, who were camped outside the facility since his admission, but waved as his motorcade was passing by.

In a statement post on its Facebook page shortly after his discharge from hospital, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) indicated that he was resting at home.

“We thank all those who sent messages of well wishes and kept the Prime Minister in their prayers,” the statement, which received hundreds of comments and shares, said.

In another release issued by OPM on Saturday, it stated that Rowley underwent an angiogram and corresponding angioplasty.

In an angiogram, a special dye is injected into blood vessels and X-rays are used to identify blockages.

In an angioplasty, a tiny balloon catheter is inserted into a clogged blood vessel to widen it and increase blood flow to the heart.

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, most patients can return to their normal routine in less than a week after an angioplasty procedure.

Rowley’s heart condition has been in the public domain for some time.
In March 2019, Rowley went to California for a check-up for a coronary issue.
At the time, Rowley took to Facebook to announce that he had been given a clean bill of health and did not require surgery.

“All smiles at lunch with my cardiologist. Today I was told there is no need for surgery,” he explained.

He said that in 2016, his doctors observed soft plaque developing in one of his arteries and the situation worsened in 2017.

He said he made dietary changes before travelling to the United States in 2019 for follow-up testing.