Minister Dudi Amsalem Hospitalized After Heart Attack, Now Home in Good Condition

Minister Dudi Amsalem suffered a heart attack on Saturday night and was hospitalized, according to his office. The office said his condition is good, and that he was discharged home on Tuesday morning, about two and a half days after the cardiac event.

Amsalem, 65, serves as minister for regional cooperation, and also holds portfolios in the Justice Ministry and as the government’s liaison to the Knesset. He previously served as communications minister and as minister for digital affairs.

He was first elected to the Knesset in 2015, more than a decade ago. The article notes that heart and blood vessel disease is the leading cause of death in the Western world, and that the most common form is myocardial infarction, caused by an acute blockage of a blood vessel supplying the heart muscle.

In Israel, about 25,000 people are hospitalized each year because of heart attacks, about 60% of them men. While most cases, roughly 65%, occur in people aged 65 and over, recent years have shown an increase among younger adults, especially those between 45 and 65.