JERUSALEM (AP) – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will turn over his duties to his deputy while the Israeli leader undergoes a heart procedure later this week, his office said Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will assume the duties for about three hours Thursday while Sharon is given a general anesthetic and doctors seal a small hole in his heart. The hole was discovered after Sharon’s mild stroke Dec. 18.

Sharon, 77, suffered no permanent damage, and the procedure, known as cardiac catheterization, will virtually eliminate the risk of a similar stroke, doctors said.

He is expected to be hospitalized for 24 hours.

Located in the partition between the upper chambers of his heart, the hole is less than a tenth of an inch wide and is a common birth defect found in 15 percent to 20 percent of the population, doctors said.

Using a catheter inserted through a blood vessel, doctors will put an “umbrella-like” device over the hole to seal it. A tiny camera inserted through the esophagus will guide them.

The procedure will take place at Hadassah Hospital Ein Karem in Jerusalem, where he was treated for his stroke, officials said.

The stroke has focused attention on Sharon’s health as he seeks a third term in March 28 national elections. Doctors have ordered the overweight prime minister to go on a diet.

Despite concerns about his health, opinion polls forecast a strong victory for Sharon, the country’s most popular politician.

Doctors said Sharon briefly lost the ability to speak during the stroke. He resumed his full work schedule Dec. 25.