ROME (AP) – Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized Wednesday with apparent respiratory problems, Italian media reported.
The 86-year-old three-time premier was in intensive care at Milan’s San Raffaele hospital, the clinic where he routinely receives care, LaPresse news agency, Sky TG24 and Corriere della Sera reported, without citing sources.
Berlusconi has had a series of health problems in recent years, most recently recovering from COVID-19 in 2020. He told reporters after being discharged from a 10-day hospital stay then that disease had been “insidious” and was the most dangerous challenge he had ever faced.
He has had a pacemaker for years, underwent heart surgery to replace an aortic valve in 2016 and has overcome prostate cancer.
There was no immediate response from Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party to requests for confirmation.
Berlusconi had been to San Raffaele, where his personal physician works, for a regular checkup just last week.