Argentine President Cristina Fernandez to have surgery =>
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will undergo surgery on Tuesday to treat bleeding on her brain, doctors have said.
Ms Fernandez, 60, was earlier ordered to rest for a month after doctors discovered the subdural haematoma.
It was diagnosed as she was undergoing tests for another condition on Saturday.
This means Ms Fernandez will have to suspend campaigning for congressional elections.
The break from campaigning is considered awkward for the president as some opinion polls have suggested the government could lose control of Congress in the poll on 27 October.
While her party has done well in the primaries on a nationwide level it has failed to win a key seat in the province of Buenos Aires, where her rival and former cabinet chief Sergio Massa beat Ms Fernandez's candidate.
Medical experts say recovering from this type of surgery is a long process, and her lay-off is now likely to be longer than a month.
Analysis
ByIgnacio de los Reyes
BBC Mundo, Buenos Aires
Although her condition is not life threatening, there has been speculation about President Fernandez's illness as the Argentine government hasn't provided any further details about the cause of the bleeding.
It is still unclear how the president's leave of absence will affect her political career. She recovered from previous surgery in 2012, when she had her thyroid gland removed. This time she will miss upcoming congressional elections, the biggest popularity test for Ms Fernandez before the end of her second term in 2015.
Several Latin American leaders have showed their support for Ms Fernandez on social networking sites. Her followers are also using Twitter, one of the president's favourite tools, to send her their messages with the hashtag #FuerzaCristina (or be strong Cristina).
It has not yet been officially announced whether Vice-President Amado Boudou, who is facing a corruption investigation, will be in charge of the country during her leave.
Headaches
The president's spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro, issued a statement on Sunday saying her doctors had carried out a brain scan in August after a previously undisclosed trauma - thought to have been caused by a fall.
They found nothing untoward, but on Saturday, she went to hospital for checks for an irregular heartbeat and headaches, and a further scan revealed the subdural haematoma - bleeding between the brain and the skull.
The hospital treating her said on Monday she had experienced a slight loss of muscular strength in her left arm, and recommended surgery to drain the subdural hematoma.
President Fernandez was first elected in 2007 and then returned to power by a comfortable majority in 2011.
Her health has been followed closely since the sudden death of her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, from a heart attack in 2010.
She has been admitted to hospital on a number of occasions while serving as president. She has low blood pressure and had to have a thyroid gland removed in 2012.
Ms Fernandez, 60, was earlier ordered to rest for a month after doctors discovered the subdural haematoma.
It was diagnosed as she was undergoing tests for another condition on Saturday.
This means Ms Fernandez will have to suspend campaigning for congressional elections.
The break from campaigning is considered awkward for the president as some opinion polls have suggested the government could lose control of Congress in the poll on 27 October.
While her party has done well in the primaries on a nationwide level it has failed to win a key seat in the province of Buenos Aires, where her rival and former cabinet chief Sergio Massa beat Ms Fernandez's candidate.
Medical experts say recovering from this type of surgery is a long process, and her lay-off is now likely to be longer than a month.
Analysis
ByIgnacio de los Reyes
BBC Mundo, Buenos Aires
Although her condition is not life threatening, there has been speculation about President Fernandez's illness as the Argentine government hasn't provided any further details about the cause of the bleeding.
It is still unclear how the president's leave of absence will affect her political career. She recovered from previous surgery in 2012, when she had her thyroid gland removed. This time she will miss upcoming congressional elections, the biggest popularity test for Ms Fernandez before the end of her second term in 2015.
Several Latin American leaders have showed their support for Ms Fernandez on social networking sites. Her followers are also using Twitter, one of the president's favourite tools, to send her their messages with the hashtag #FuerzaCristina (or be strong Cristina).
It has not yet been officially announced whether Vice-President Amado Boudou, who is facing a corruption investigation, will be in charge of the country during her leave.
Headaches
The president's spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro, issued a statement on Sunday saying her doctors had carried out a brain scan in August after a previously undisclosed trauma - thought to have been caused by a fall.
They found nothing untoward, but on Saturday, she went to hospital for checks for an irregular heartbeat and headaches, and a further scan revealed the subdural haematoma - bleeding between the brain and the skull.
The hospital treating her said on Monday she had experienced a slight loss of muscular strength in her left arm, and recommended surgery to drain the subdural hematoma.
President Fernandez was first elected in 2007 and then returned to power by a comfortable majority in 2011.
Her health has been followed closely since the sudden death of her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, from a heart attack in 2010.
She has been admitted to hospital on a number of occasions while serving as president. She has low blood pressure and had to have a thyroid gland removed in 2012.
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