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| FILE – In this April 25, 2013, file photo former President George W. Bush turns to wave as he leaves with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama after the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. Bush has successfully undergone a heart procedure after doctors discovered a blockage in an artery. |
Former President
George W. Bush successfully underwent a heart procedure in Dallas on
Tuesday after doctors discovered a blockage in an artery during his
annual physical, Bush spokesman Freddy Ford said.
"At
the recommendation of his doctors, President Bush agreed to have a
stent placed to open the blockage," Ford said. "The procedure was
performed successfully this morning, without complication, at Texas
Health Presbyterian Hospital."
Bush, 67, was expected to be discharged Wednesday and resume his normal schedule the following day.
The
blockage was discovered Monday during Bush's physical at the Cooper
Clinic in Dallas, where the nation's 43rd president lives.
Bush was described as being "in high spirits" and eager to return home.
"He
is grateful to the skilled medical professionals who have cared for
him," Ford said. "He thanks his family, friends, and fellow citizens for
their prayers and well wishes. And he encourages us all to get our
regular check-ups."
Stents are mesh
scaffoldings that prop open arteries typically clogged by years of quiet
cholesterol buildup. About half a million people have stents inserted
in the U.S. each year, generally involving an overnight stay in the
hospital.
Doctors usually guide a narrow tube
through a blood vessel near the groin up to the heart, inflate a tiny
balloon to flatten the blockage and insert the stent. Sometimes, they
insert it through an artery in the wrist to lower the risk of bleeding.
Doctors
often recommend first trying medication to treat a clogged artery. More
severe blockages, particularly in several arteries, may require bypass
surgery. Arteries can reclog, so patients often are put on
heart-friendly diets or medication.
White
House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that President Barack
Obama was briefed on Bush's procedure and "obviously wishes him well."
He didn't believe Obama and Bush had spoken, Carney said.
Bush
is known as a fitness buff. In 1993, before he was elected Texas
governor, he ran the Houston Marathon in a respectable 3:44.52.
While
in the White House, he frequently used a quarter-mile jogging path on
the south lawn. Bush was known to run about three miles four days a
week, and cross-trained with swimming, free weights and an elliptical
trainer. When doctors found his knees were getting damaged, he turned
to mountain biking.
Since leaving office, Bush
hosts and leads an annual 100-kilometer mountain bike ride with about
20 wounded military veterans. This year's ride was near Waco and his
Central Texas ranch. He's also led a group of vets on bikes similarly
through Texas' rugged Big Bend National Park.
But while Bush doesn't have a history of heart trouble, he has needed medical attention several times.
In
May 2004, toward the end of his first term, Bush fell from his mountain
bike during a 17-mile ride. He was wearing a helmet and mouthguard but
sustained scrapes and scratches to his face, hand and knees. In July
2005, he crashed his bike again while on a slick pavement in Scotland
and suffered some bruises and scrapes to a hand and arm.
In
2002, he briefly lost consciousness while watching a football game on
TV at the White House and hit his head. The incident was blamed on him
not feeling well and an improperly eaten pretzel.
In
1998 and 1999, while governor of Texas, he had two benign colonic
polyps removed. In 2002, while president, he had a follow-up colonoscopy
and invoked a section of the 25th Amendment temporarily transferring
presidential powers to Vice President Dick Cheney. The colonoscopy
showed no signs of cancer.
