Princess Yuriko, great-aunt of Japan emperor, diagnosed with heart failure

Kyodo -- Sep 29

Princess Yuriko, the oldest member of the imperial family and great-aunt of Emperor Naruhito, has been diagnosed with heart failure, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday.

The 97-year-old princess, the widow of Prince Mikasa, is in stable condition and able to converse and eat. She will be medicated and stay at a Tokyo hospital for two to three weeks, according to the agency.

Her heart's ability to pump blood has been weakening, and the princess will receive treatment to remove the buildup of pleural fluid, it said.

She was originally slated to stay at St. Luke's International Hospital for a week before the diagnosis.

The princess had been diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to the hospital last Thursday after a monthly health checkup. She had been coughing and showing symptoms of exhaustion for a few days prior.

Sep 29 (ANNnewsCH) - 肺炎で入院中の三笠宮妃百合子さま(97)が新たに心不全と診断されました。  三笠宮妃百合子さまは肺炎のため先週から聖路加国際病院に入院されていますが、宮内庁によりますと、精密検査の結果、心不全も併発していると診断されたということです。容体は落ち着いていて、会話や食事もされていますが、当初1週間を予定していた入院期間が治療などのため、2週間から3週間になる見込みです。百合子さまは不整脈や狭心症のため、1999年に心臓にペースメーカーを埋め込む手術を受けられています。