Washington (CNN) — U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke was in critical condition at George Washington University Hospital on Saturday after undergoing surgery to repair a tear in his aorta, a State Department spokesman said.
Holbrooke, 69, the Obama administration’s special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, fell ill Friday morning during a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and walked down to the department’s medical unit, a senior State Department official said. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, the official said.
CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta said the tearing of one of the layers of the walls of the aorta “happens suddenly.” It typically is associated with blood pressure and typically occurs in men between the ages of 50 and 70.
