Greece's president gets pacemaker

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Greek President Karolos Papoulias was doing fine after being fitted with a pacemaker in emergency surgery Monday, hospital officials said.

Officials at Attiko Hospital in Athens said doctors decided to implant the pacemaker after discovering an asymptomatic heart irregularity when the president came in for a scheduled checkup, the Athens News Agency reported.

The president, whose country has been battered by days of violent protests following the police shooting of a 15-year-old boy, was in excellent condition following the operation, the hospital's announcement said.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was briefed on Papoulias's condition and wished him a speedy recovery, the government said. Karamanlis was in Nicosia attending the funeral of the late former Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos.

George Papaconstantiou, the leader of Greece's main opposition party, PASOK, who also was in Cyprus for the funeral also expressed his best desire to see the president make a quick recovery.