Minister Edwin Tong hospitalised, has stent inserted after severely blocked coronary artery found

SINGAPORE: Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong underwent angioplasty and had a stent inserted on Tuesday (Aug 8) after a severely blocked coronary artery was found during a routine health check.

The 53-year-old is recovering in hospital and said he would "take things a little slower for a bit" before returning to his usual routine.

"Will be working from home as much as possible in the meantime," said Mr Tong in a Facebook post.

"I have also had to cut down on some of my events and meetings over the last couple of days, on doctors’ orders not to exert myself too much."

During a routine health check, doctors discovered his left anterior descending artery was blocked.

"This was significant because it is the main and largest artery supplying blood to the heart, and it was assessed to be severely blocked," said the minister.

He said he was neither diabetic nor a smoker, has maintained "pretty good" cholesterol levels, and was "definitely not sedentary" when it comes to daily activities and exercise.

"So it was quite a shock for me to find out about the extent of the blockage and the risks which it put me under," he added.

Mr Tong did a scan on Tuesday morning, which made the diagnosis clearer. After the scan, he underwent an angioplasty – a procedure used to stretch open a blocked artery – before a stent was inserted to restore blood flow.

"Very grateful to my doctors and the nursing team – they are looking after me brilliantly," he said, adding that he will spend National Day on Wednesday in hospital.

"FEELING A LITTLE MORE TIRED"

Mr Tong said he was "perhaps feeling a little more tired" from his regular routine than usual and had put it down to the "hustle and bustle of the schedule".

"I did not otherwise feel unwell. Nor did I experience any symptoms or discomfort at all, and I also don’t have any specific risk factors," said Mr Tong.

"So it’s fortunate that I managed to have this picked up in good time through a routine health check."

He also apologised for missing various events over the last couple of days.

Mr Tong was first elected into parliament in 2011 as a Member of Parliament for Moulmein-Kallang GRC. He was elected as MP for Marine Parade GRC in 2015 and 2020.

Mr Tong was appointed Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, as well as Second Minister for Law in July 2020. Prior to this, he served as Senior Minister of State for Law and for Health from July 2018 to July 2020.

Before taking office, he worked as a lawyer at Allen and Gledhill, one of the largest law practices in Singapore.

About two weeks ago, Member of Parliament for Bukit Panjang Liang Eng Hwa said he was diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer, after experiencing muffled hearing in his left ear for several months.

He said he would undergo daily radiotherapy treatment in the next seven weeks and that he may take time off from some community activities and duties in the next couple of months.

Workers' Party MP Muhamad Faisal Manap was warded in hospital on Jul 24 for a "cardiac condition" and discharged four days later. 

The opposition party said Mr Faisal would be on medical leave and was recuperating at home.