Riccardo Muti receives a heart pacemaker in Chicago

After Riccardo Muti’s fall from the podium in Chicago last week, doctors have implanted a pacemaker to treat a heart rhythm problem.

Cardiologists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital blamed Muti’s fainting spell on 3 February as a “common heart rhythm disturbance” and said the pacemaker they implanted would monitor his heart and, if necessary, deliver a shock if his heartbeat becomes too slow.

Muti fainted and pitched forward onto the stage during an extended rehearsal last week, fracturing his jaw and other facial bones and suffering a gashed chin. He had surgery earlier this week that wired his jaw shut for a few weeks and inserted permanent plates in his face.