Former US President Jimmy Carter has been admitted to hospital for a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain brought on by a number of falls, the Carter Center said.

Carter "was admitted to Emory University Hospital this evening for a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain, caused by bleeding due to his recent falls," the Carter Center said in a statement on Monday, adding that the operation would take place on Tuesday morning.

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Carter, 95, has fallen at least three times this year, and required hip replacement surgery in the spring. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, but has since said he is cancer-free.

During Carter's tenure, the US and China established full diplomatic relations

Unflappable faith

Almost 40 years after he left office, the former Democratic president still continues to teach at a Sunday school on a twice-monthly basis at Maranatha Baptist Church in his small hometown of Plains, in southwest Georgia.

Reverend Tony Lowden, Carter's pastor, said the ex-president was admitted to hospital on what he described as "a rough day."

"We just need the whole country to be in prayer for him," Lowden told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The church confirmed Carter will not be teaching his Sunday school class this week.

Carter is resting comfortably, and his wife, Rosalynn, is with him, the hospital said.

Carter was the 39th president of the United States, holding office from 1977 until 1981, when he was replaced by Republican Ronald Reagan.

jsi/cmk (AFP, Reuters, AP)

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