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Brig. Gen. Mardjo Soebiandono, a doctor who leads the team treating the former president, told a press conference, ''The buildup of fluids in his lungs is increasing and signs of bleeding have been seen in his urine and feces.''

Suharto, 86, was admitted to Jakarta's Pertamina Central Hospital on Friday with edema, body swelling caused by a buildup of fluids.

Tuesday morning, Soebiandono said, doctors found ''a dyssynchrony in the contractions'' of Suharto's heart muscle.

Muscles in his heart's upper chambers do not even contract, he added.

Medically, damaged heart muscle can be so weak that it can no longer pump effectively, leading to congestive heart failure. Symptoms of the congestive heart failure typically include shortness of breath, swelling of the feet and legs and abdominal swelling.

Later, the medical team conducted a thallium scan on Suharto, a method of examining the heart to get information about the blood supply to the heart muscle using special cameras.

Soebiandono said when the former dictator is in stable condition, cardiac resynchronization therapy, CRT, a treatment for patients with heart

failure-induced conduction disturbances and heart muscle dyssynchrony, will be done to reduce symptoms and improve cardiac function.

Without the therapy, the doctor said, ''His condition will get worse.''

However, soon after the scan was completed, Juniarti Hatta, a cardiologist who is also a member of the medical team, told reporters, ''The condition of Mr. Suharto's organs does not support the therapy, so we are not too optimistic.''

She said the left chambers of Suharto's heart have swollen, which may lead to heart failure.

Asked if Suharto can still communicate, Soebiandono answered, ''He can, although he is very weak. He reacts to questions and he is not in comma.''

Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari, who visited Suharto late in the evening, said Suharto ''is conscious, but his body is full of medical equipment.'' The medical supports, however, have not improved his condition, the minister said.

''So, we are on alert, on full alert,'' she said without elaborating.

The medical team has described Suharto's condition as ''more serious'' than it was in May 2006 when he was treated for about one month at the same medical facility after suffering intestinal bleeding.

Since 2001, Suharto has used a heart pacemaker.

He has been hospitalized on several occasions for various illnesses since 1998 when he was forced to step down in the face of mass protests against his 32 years in power.

He was a defendant in a multimillion-dollar corruption case, but in 2000 a court declared him too ill to stand trial.

In May 2006, the Attorney General's Office dropped the corruption charges and closed the case due to Suharto's health, which it said leaves him unable to face prosecution.

Last year, however, after failed attempts to prosecute him in criminal court, government prosecutors filed a lawsuit in civil court against him and one of his charity foundations over state losses caused by the foundation.

Those legal proceedings are ongoing.

Suharto is alleged to have embezzled about $570 million in public money during his 32 years in power.

Anticorruption groups and human rights activists have demanded Suharto be brought to justice for not only massive corruption but also gross human rights violations during his iron-fisted rule//Kyodo News - January 09, 2008