Philip given stent for blocked artery

LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II’s husband has undergone treatment for a blocked coronary artery, British royal officials said Friday.

Buckingham Palace said Prince Philip, 90, was taken from Sandringham, the queen’s sprawling estate in rural Norfolk, to the cardiac unit at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge earlier Friday for “precautionary tests” after suffering chest pains.

The palace refused to confirm if Philip had suffered a heart attack, saying only that tests at the hospital showed a blocked coronary artery was causing Philip’s discomfort.

“This was treated successfully by the minimally invasive procedure of coronary stenting,” the palace said in a statement. “Prince Philip will remain in hospital under observation for a short period.”

Doctors said Philip could have suffered a heart attack, but without more information it was impossible to know for sure.

Coronary stenting is standard procedure both to fend off a heart attack or save a patient already in the midst of one, said Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of cardiology at New York-Presbyterian, Columbia University Medical Center.

“It is a big spectrum. There’s no way of knowing what applies to him,” Schwartz said.