The prosecutor-general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud has announced that ousted president Hosni Mubarak will not be moved to a military hospital after all for medical and security reasons. The announcement comes hot on the heels of an earlier statement by the prosecution that preparations are being made to move the ousted leader. The earlier statement said that Minister of Interior Mansour El-Essawy wrote to Mahmoud earlier today to inform him that Mubarak would be transferred to a military hospital accompanied by all the medical supplies and equipment needed to ensure his care. Mahmoud had ordered on Sunday that Mubarak be moved to a military hospital ahead of being transferred to the Tora Prison hospital. In his letter to the prosecutor-general, El-Essawy added that Mubarak is suffering from atrial fibrillation, which may lead to cardiac arrest and means that he has to remain closely monitored. It now seems that Mubarak's condition means he will not be moved for the time being. Adel Imam, a professor of cardiology, told Ahram Online that artrial fibrillation causes the heart's upper two chambers to beat irregularly and may require the patient to remain in an intensive care unit. “The condition may increase the heart rate from 70 beats to 150 or 200 beats and may lead to a cardiac arrest or stroke,” says Imam. “Patients suffering from the condition may need to remain in the intensive care unit but it depends on how bad their case is.” Yesterday, state news agency MENA had reported that Mubarak will be moved to a military facility near Cairo on Tuesday. The ousted president has been staying in the Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital since he suffered a minor heart attack while being questioned by the prosecution on 12 April.
