Former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, husband of the current President Cristina Kirchner, underwent successful emergency surgery on Sunday, the government said.

"The news is good, the operation is over, everything's fine," Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said on his way out of the hospital where the ex-president was being treated for problems with his right carotid artery.

The 59-year-old former president, who remains a lawmaker and leader of the Peronist (Justicialista) party, was earlier admitted to the private Los Arcos hospital in the capital's Palermo district with his wife at his side.

"Aging has a way of catching up with us," Defense Minister Nilda Garre added.

Kirchner was president from 2003 until 2007, and before that governor of the southern province of Santa Cruz.

Kirchner shepherded the South American nation through its recovery from the 2001 financial crisis, but the team now led by his presidential wife Cristina has so far failed to live up to promises to reduce poverty.

Unconfirmed local media reports said the ex-president sought medical attention after feeling as if his legs were asleep.

Carotid trouble is often caused by blood flow being restricted in that artery by calcium and cholesterol plaque.

Doctors sometimes clear the plaque if it is detected early to avoid strokes or other problems, or in this case after a problem tips them off to a carotid condition.