Recently sworn in undersecretary to the president Petros Demetriou is in a stable condition in intensive care on Tuesday evening, after open heart surgery he underwent earlier in the day at a private hospital in Nicosia went well.

Demetriou was rushed to a Nicosia hospital on Tuesday afternoon after feeling acutely unwell, government spokesman Marios Pelekanos said.

After undergoing a number of medical examinations, Pelekanos said Demetriou suffered a sudden angina-related pain and based on the findings of a CT coronary angiogram it was decided to immediately admit him to the operating room, where he underwent surgery.

According to the medical announcement, Demetriou is expected to make a full recovery, however he will remain in the hospital for 24 hours.

According to Dr. Marinos Soteriou, director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at the American Medical Centre, Demetriou presented with unstable angina pectoris on his arrival by ambulance.

“After diagnostic tests it was found that he was suffering from a congenital condition, a congenital heart disease in essence, where the right artery that feeds the heart had an abnormal bulge and was causing these symptoms,” Soteriou noted.

Demetriou had to undergo emergency open-heart surgery to correct the problem.

“He is expected to make a full recovery without any particular problems,” concluded Soteriou.

Earlier in the afternoon, president Nicos Anastasiadis went to the hospital and was informed about the state of Demetriou’s health. The House speaker, members of the Council of Ministers, close associates of the Demetriou and other officials also went to the hospital.

Demetriou was named to the post at the end of June when there was a slight reshuffle of positions following the death of Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou.