WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Vice President Dick Cheney was given a clean bill of health after he underwent a physical examination on Friday to check the pacemaker implanted in his chest last summer.
"After his routine checkup, the vice president was told by his doctor that all the news was very good. In particular, the doctor noted that the vice president's ICD neither detected nor treated any arrhythmia," said Mary Matalin, White House counselor to Cheney.
Cheney, 61, underwent a one-hour procedure in June at George Washington University Hospital to have what is called a "pacemaker plus", a silver device -- roughly the size of a pager -- surgically placed beneath the vice president's left clavicle.
Cheney has a history of heart problems that span two decades, suffering his first of four heart attacks at age 37. Cheney was hospitalized in March, when doctors adjusted a heart stent -- a small mesh tube designed to open an artery -- that had been put in place after what was described as a "very slight" heart attack in November 2000. Doctors say Cheney's heart pumps about 20 percent less blood than a normal heart because of its weakened condition.
The device, a Medtronic Gem3DR, was inserted as a precaution against rapid heartbeats that could trigger a serious fall in Cheney's blood pressure. The device continually monitors Cheney's heart, delivering an electric shock if beating became dangerously irregular. The device also has the ability to collect data on Cheney's heart function, non-invasively accessible to cardiologists using a computer. It would most likely need to be replaced in six to eight years, Lee said.
