Mayor of Hamilton Jay Bluck was being treated in the intensive care unit at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for a suspected heart condition yesterday.

Mr. Bluck, 65, was taken ill around 3 a.m. at his East Shore Road, Somerset, home. A family friend, who did not wish for his name to be printed, said Mr. Bluck asked his wife to take him to hospital after he began to feel generally unwell. She decided to call an ambulance, and Mr. Bluck was conveyed to hospital in a conscious state.

?He?s undergoing a variety of tests. There are indications that a heart condition may exist, however, doctors have not officially told the family what the problem is as they are trying to find out,? said the friend yesterday afternoon.

?He has no history of heart problems that I know of.?

Mrs. Bluck was at the mayor?s hospital bedside yesterday although his sons, Greg and John, were off the Island. A hospital spokeswoman said last night the mayor was ?critical but stable?.

According to Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Kelly Miller, Deputy Mayor David Dunkley has stepped in to fulfil his duties at City Hall.

Supportive words were offered by well-wishers yesterday as news spread that Mr. Bluck ? who is just four months into his time in office ? had been taken ill.

Sonia Grant, who he beat in an April 27 mayoral election, said: ?I wish him very well and hope he makes a speedy recovery.?

Lawson Mapp, who Mr. Bluck replaced as mayor, said: ?I?m quite shocked to hear this news. Obviously, I hope that the tests they are doing will be negative, and wish him a speedy recovery.?