Silvio Berlusconi rushed to Monte Carlo hospital with heart problems

Former Italian leader’s latest health scare comes after he survived coronavirus in September

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital in Monte Carlo, Monaco.  (GETTY)

Former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi was rushed to hospital in Monaco because of heart issues, his personal physician has said.

Alberto Zangrillo, the ex-prime minister’s doctor, said he should go to a hospital in the city-state after examining him on Monday.

It is unclear whether the media tycoon’s medical emergency has passed.

The 84-year-old has battled multiple health issues in recent years, undergoing heart surgery in 2016 and being hospitalised with Covid-19 in September, following a visit to Sardinia.  

Mr Berlusconi developed double pneumonia after contracting the virus and was treated for more than a week at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital.

On his release from hospital, the former prime minister said he had survived “the most dangerous challenge” he had ever faced.

“Each one of us is exposed to the risk of infecting others. I repeat my call for maximum responsibility from everyone,” he cautioned at the time.

Berlusconi has been Italian prime minister on four occasions and has been a MEP since 2019.

On the news of his current health scare, shares in his family’s broadcasting firm Mediaset leapt almost three per cent on Thursday.

The jump in price was attributed to speculation about ownership changes at Mediaset were his condition to worsen.

Over the past five years, the broadcaster has been subject to a legal battle between the Berlusconi family and the second-largest shareholder Vivendia, a French media giant.

As well as his stake in Mediaset, Mr Berlusconi remains the leader of the right-wing Forza Italia party. It could play a central role in propping up the current government, as it now lacks a majority and faces the prospect of early elections.