Former Catalan president Jordi Pujol has been operated on tonight at the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona after suffering a serious stroke, sources close to him have informed ElNacional.cat. Pujol, 92 years old, had initially gone to the Hospital de Barcelona when he felt unwell and was transferred to the Hospital de Sant Pau. From the hospital, it was reported that Pujol underwent surgery "due to a stroke caused by the obstruction of a cerebral artery", and that he received "endovascular treatment to remove the arterial obstruction."
In a statement released shortly before 9pm tonight, the hospital explained that Pujol had arrived this afternoon at the centre affected by "an acute language disorder due to a stroke" and that it has been verified that the stroke was caused by the blockage of a cerebral artery that caused a reduction in blood flow. After the operation, Pujol remained in the centre's stroke unit.
Possible health consequences
At first it was reported that the condition of Pujol, who was president of Catalonia for 23 years between 1980 and 2003, was of a mild nature and that the president was still in the hospital waiting for tests to be carried out. However, shortly afterwards, those close to him stated that he had suffered a cerebral ischemia, of a serious nature and that it was expected that it could have health consequences.
In fact, right now, the possible consequences are one of the main concerns of doctors, who are trying to know the extent of the damage, which will depend on the time in which the brain has suffered ischemia, and which could affect speech and writing. For now, sources close to the president say that the intervention has managed to clear the blood clot.
Over the weekend, the former president of the Generalitat was in the media, making statements to Catalunya Ràdio following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, during which he admitted concern for his political legacy. "Of course I'm concerned. I've done things well, and even done some things very well, but there are others that don't leave me satisfied," he said.
After suffering years of ostracism following the confession he made about an undeclared family inheritance, Pujol has made more frequent public appearances in recent months in several events, such as the interview he gave in July at the radio station SER with the journalist Josep Cuní.