Experts: Cheney's Condition Not Critical

Nov. 22 -- The chest pains that led Republican vice-presidential candidate Dick Cheney to check himself into a hospital today are a cause for concern, but they are nothing that simple medical procedures couldn’t fix, according to heart specialists around the country.

Cheney, who was hospitalized in Washington early this morning after complaining of chest and shoulder pains, has suffered three heart attacks in the past and underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 1988.

This afternoon the former defense secretary underwent a two-hour cardiac catheterization, in which doctors placed a stent into one of Cheney’s arteries after discovering signs it was narrowing. The stent is a cylinder that further expands a narrowed area of the artery in order to further improve blood flow.

“The artery now appears normal,” said Alan Wasserman, interim chair of the Department ofMedicine at George Washington University Hospital, adding there was “no evidence of any new heart damage” to Cheney, 59.

“He is in better shape now than before coming in here,” Wasserman said.

Cardiologists around the country say Cheney’s condition is a serious matter, but the prognosis is good.

Improving Blood Flow

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Over time blood vessels in the heart narrow, constricting the blood flow, which could lead to chest pains. This is more likely in to happen several years after a heart operation, said Dr. Douglas Zipes, president of American College of Cardiology.

Zipes, who practices and teaches at Indiana University School of Medicine, said that a catheterization is a common practice for patients who have had heart problems in the past.

One of Cheney’s doctors told a news conference today that only one of Cheney’s arteries was clogged. Zipes said that is good news.

“If he has narrowing on a single vessel, then the problem can easily be approached through the technology,” Zipes said.

Zipes said the stent procedure performed on Cheney is a form of angioplasty, which is a general term for the clearing out of blood vessels. It is usually successful in opening up arteries and restoring blood flow, Zipes said.