Prez recovering well after angioplasty, to be in hospital till tomorrow

President Pranab Mukherjee is "recovering fast" following his coronary angioplasty but will remain in hospital till tomorrow as per the advice of doctors.

Hospital sources said that the President, who turned 79 on December 11, was cheerful and also signed some files and met his personal staff from Rashtrapati Bhavan.

While he is showing improvement, doctors at Army's Research and Referral hospital here, who installed a coronary stent in his artery yesterday to remove a blockage in his heart, recommended that Mukherjee should remain hospitalised till tomorrow, the sources said.

The coronary angioplasty was necessitated as doctors detected a blockage in Mukherjee's heart yesterday after he was admitted there with stomach problems and related ailments.

Earlier in the day, the President thanked people for their wishes on his official twitter account.

"Grateful for all the thoughts, wishes and prayers for my good health; I have recovered and am hoping to return to work soon," the President tweeted.

When contacted, Press Secretary Venu Rajamony said, "The President is recovering fast and we hope to see him back soon."

After he was admitted yesterday, doctors at the hospital put him under observation for various tests during which they detected a blockage in one of the arteries, hospital sources said.

The doctors conducted angioplasty and installed a stent, a small mesh tube that is used to treat narrow or weak arteries.

Coronary angioplasty is a procedure used to open blocked or narrow coronary (heart) arteries. The procedure improves blood flow to the heart.