Paraguay ex-president Lugo in induced coma but 'stable' after stroke

Former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is in a medically induced coma after suffering a stroke and is in stable condition, party officials said Wednesday. Doctor and legislator Jorge Querey said that Lugo, who is also currently a senator, was hospitalized after an ischemic stroke and that initial studies indicated Lugo suffered a "relatively small" injury.

Former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is in a medically induced coma after suffering a stroke and is in stable condition, party officials said Wednesday.

Doctor and legislator Jorge Querey said that Lugo, who is also currently a senator, was hospitalized after an ischemic stroke and that initial studies indicated Lugo suffered a "relatively small" injury. The injury "can grow larger or can shrink, we don't know how it will play out," Querey told journalists outside of the hospital.

The 71-year-old Lugo, who was president from 2008 to 2012, is a former Catholic bishop who left the priesthood to become a politician. He is now a prominent leader of the leftist Frente Guasu coalition. During his administration, Lugo was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, which he recovered from after receiving treatment in Brazil.

Querey said doctors will perform an MRI exam on Lugo to see the extent of the stroke's damage. A party spokesman said the former president's condition was "stable" and he would be transferred to another hospital later in the afternoon.