MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cristina Fernandez again visits hospital: this time to address lumbago symptoms

The Argentine president has a complicated health record

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez underwent tests for an incident of lumbago or back pain at a Buenos Aires hospital on Wednesday afternoon, according to an official release from the hospital and the Government House Public Communication Office. Early morning the president arrived from Cuba where she attended the Celac summit.

 “Dra. Cristina Fernandez underwent some diagnosis studies and consultations with the Orthopedic Team from the Hospital Universitario Austral because of lumbago symptoms”, said the brief communiqué signed by Dr. Eduardo Schnitzler.

Cristina Fernandez was the first president to arrive to Havana for the Celac summit, but was also the first to leave, after making her speech. Discussions to wrap up the final version of the Havana Declaration of the summit took much longer than expected.

In this same hospital, on 4 January 2012, the Argentine president underwent successful thyroid surgery which proved non positive to a possible cancer.

Lumbago refers to intense pain at the end of the vertebral column precisely in the lumbar area, caused mainly because of extraordinary physical efforts or wrong postures. If the pain is recurrent for over three months the incident then becomes chronic.

The Argentine president has a complicated health record. Last October she underwent inter-cranium surgery to drain blood clots, the origin of which was never explained, but had a rigorous convalescence of no stress, no flights and the least possible activity. Forty days later in early December she reappeared at a rally in Government House, but then again was absent until the second half of January.

Cristina Fernandez also suffers of low blood pressure and has regular cardio-vascular tests. The latest news Wednesday was that she was resting at the presidential residence in Olivos.