1. The next 24 to 48 hours are critical," his doctor, Juan Ignacio Vergara, said on Sunday night.

2. "He is stable but of course serious," said Juan Ignacio Vergara, a doctor at the military hospital where Pinochet was taken.

3. Juan Ignacio Vergara said the catheter procedure, which is "similar to a by–pass" was successful, but that Pinochet was in a serious but stable condition at the Santiago Military hospital.

4. Juan Ignacio Vergara, spokesman for the medical team treating Pinochet. His life is no longer at risk.‘‘ The '1–year–old former strongman suffered an acute heart attack Sunday and surgeons performed emergency angioplasty to enlarge an artery and restore the flow of blood to his heart.

5. Juan Ignacio Vergara, a member of the team treating Pinochet, said the surgery was not needed after an angioplasty performed in the morning to clear a heart artery obstruction allowed improvement in his condition.‘‘ No bypass has been performed and we expect no open heart surgery will be necessary,‘‘ Vergara said on Sunday afternoon, explaining that such surgery was extremely risky for someone of Pinochet‘s age. There is a trend toward improvement,‘‘ he said. He is conscious, he communicates with us and with his family.‘‘ But Vergara made clear Pinochet‘s condition continues to be serious and the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical to see whether other complications appear.‘‘ He said an accumulation of fluid in Pinochet‘s lungs was a secondary problem that has been solved.‘‘ Earlier Pinochet‘s younger son, Marco Antonio Pinochet, said his father had been virtually rescued from death‘‘ with the angioplasty.