Chile's former dictator Augusto Pinochet was taken to a military hospital today for checks into blood pressure problems, a spokesman said.
A court is set to decide in the coming days whether Pinochet, who ruled Chile with an iron first between 1973-1990, is well enough mentally to stand trial on charges of covering up killings and abductions.
The murders were allegedly committed by a military death squad that flew around the country in a helicopter shortly after Pinochet's 1973 coup. The squad allegedly killed 75 people.
Pinochet, 85, suffers from dementia, according to a Chilean court report. He also has diabetes and has had at least two strokes.
Last night he felt bad and this morning the doctor examined him and became worried. "There are blood pressure problems again, something that has shown up in the last couple of weeks," spokesman Mr Guillermo Garin told Cooperativa radio station.
The spokesman said Pinochet was retaining liquids and it was not clear how long he would be hospitalized.
"The specialists are going to examine him and then we'll know for certain what they are going to decide. He might be hospitalized for a more thorough examination or he could be hospitalized for treatment," Mr Garin said.
Pinochet underwent oral surgery in April.
The British government held Pinochet for 16 months last year but freed him after a judge ruled that he was too ill to be extradited to Spain to face torture charges.