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| Nigeria leader has heart problem | Nigeria leader has heart problem |
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| Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has a heart condition, his spokesman has said, after he flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday for medical treatment. | Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has a heart condition, his spokesman has said, after he flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday for medical treatment. |
| Mr Yar'Adua has acute pericarditis, or inflammation of the lining around the heart, his spokesman told the BBC. | Mr Yar'Adua has acute pericarditis, or inflammation of the lining around the heart, his spokesman told the BBC. |
| He said the president, 58, was responding well to treatment. Officials earlier denied rumours that the president was seriously ill. | |
| Mr Yar'Adua has had a chronic kidney condition for at least 10 years. | Mr Yar'Adua has had a chronic kidney condition for at least 10 years. |
| He has been unable to perform a number of official duties because of recurring health problems. | He has been unable to perform a number of official duties because of recurring health problems. |
| At about 3pm Friday November 20, after he returned from the Abuja Central Mosque where he performed Muslim prayer, President Yar'Adua complained of a left-sided severe chest pain Olusegun AdeniyiPresidential spokesman | |
| President Yar'Adua has twice been flown to Germany for emergency treatment and it is the second time he has visited hospitals in Saudi Arabia. | |
| He has refused to say exactly what condition he suffers from, and has repeatedly said in interviews that his life is "in the hands of God". | |
| Acute inflammatory pericarditis usually lasts one to three weeks and does not lead to further problems, according to the American Heart Association | |
| About 20% of pericarditis patients have a recurrence within months or, rarely, within years, it says. | |
| Presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said Mr Yar'Adua felt pains after performing Friday prayers last week. | |
| "At about 3pm Friday November 20, after he returned from the Abuja Central Mosque where he performed Muslim prayer, President Yar'Adua complained of a left-sided severe chest pain," he said, reports Reuters news agency. | |
| Mr Adeniyi said the initial diagnosis was pericarditis, which has since been confirmed. | |
| Officials had earlier been quoted as saying the president intended to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca this week. | Officials had earlier been quoted as saying the president intended to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca this week. |
| Analysts say his continued ill-health poses a problem for Nigeria's constitution. | Analysts say his continued ill-health poses a problem for Nigeria's constitution. |
| If he were to step down or die, he would be replaced by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is from the country's southern Niger Delta region. | If he were to step down or die, he would be replaced by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is from the country's southern Niger Delta region. |
| But according to the ruling People's Democratic Party's own formula for sharing power among the country's regions, the president must be a northerner. | But according to the ruling People's Democratic Party's own formula for sharing power among the country's regions, the president must be a northerner. |