NEW YORK — Former President Bill Clinton, who underwent quadruple bypass surgery six years ago, suffered chest “discomfort” Thursday and was taken to a New York hospital, where doctors gave him an excellent prognosis after inserting stents in one of his coronary arteries.
Clinton’s cardiologist, Dr. Allan Schwartz, who oversaw the roughly hour-long procedure, said Clinton, 63, had been up and about and was expected to go home today. He could be back at work within days.
Schwartz emphasized that the procedure was not caused by dietary or lifestyle problems but was the result of a side effect in patients who have undergone bypass surgeries. He said Clinton did not have a heart attack and his heart did not suffer any damage.
“Just as illnesses have natural histories, treatments have natural histories,” said Schwartz, adding that there is “about a 10 to 20 percent failure rate at five to six years” after the type of operation Clinton had in 2004.
Schwartz said Clinton’s symptoms should not be described as chest pains. Rather, he had experienced feelings of pressure and constriction in recent days. They were “brief in nature, but because they were repetitive, he contacted me,” Schwartz said outside New York’s Presbyterian Hospital.
Clinton was “in good spirits” after the procedure, Schwartz said, adding that it went “very smoothly.”
According to a White House official, President Barack Obama spoke to Clinton “and wished him a speedy recovery. . . . Clinton said he was feeling ‘absolutely great.’ ”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who learned of her husband’s hospitalization while in Washington, arrived at the hospital about 7:30 p.m. The couple’s daughter, Chelsea, also was there, Schwartz said.
Aides to Hillary Clinton said she would delay her departure for a trip to the Persian Gulf from today until Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
The insertion of stents, used to prop open arteries, is considered a relatively common procedure. It was a reminder of the health risks still facing the former president, who doctors said in 2004 could have suffered a major heart attack had his heart problems not been diagnosed in time.
