Doctor: Bill Clinton's prognosis 'excellent' after stent procedure

(News Terupdate) - Former President Bill Clinton has shown "no evidence of heart attack or damage to his heart" and his prognosis is "excellent" after undergoing a procedure Thursday to restore blood flow in one of his coronary arteries, according to his doctor.

Clinton, 63, was hospitalized at New York-Presbyterian Hospital's Columbia campus after experiencing brief periods of discomfort in his chest over several days, according to Dr. Allan Schwartz, the hospital's chief of cardiology.

Two stents were used to restore blood flow to a coronary artery Thursday after a bypass graft -- part of a quadruple bypass surgery that Clinton underwent in 2004 -- was found to be blocked, Schwartz said.

An electrocardiogram and a blood test showed no evidence of a heart attack, Schwartz said.

"He's in good spirits, and we hope to have him go home tomorrow," Schwartz told reporters Thursday night.

Schwartz said the need for the procedure had nothing to do with Clinton's post-bypass diet or exercise, which Schwartz called excellent. Rather, Schwartz said, this is "part of the natural history" of the bypass treatment.

"He really towed the line in terms of diet and exercise. He really followed the program," Schwartz said, adding he told Clinton that he'd be allowed to return to work Monday.

The stents have opened the artery that the blocked bypass graft was supposed to service, Schwartz said. A stent is a tiny tube that is inserted into a narrowed or blocked vessel to open it up and allow blood to travel through, according to CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

The graft's blockage wasn't unheard of, because that particular type of graft has a 10 to 20 percent failure rate after six years, Schwartz said.

However, a bypass graft at a different artery -- the main artery in the front of Clinton's heart -- still looks "pristine," Schwartz said.

"We know from multiple studies that if that bypass is open at this point ... it will remain open," he said.

Stents and chest pain explained

Schwartz said Clinton was up and walking about two hours after Thursday's procedure.

In a written statement, Douglas Band, counselor to the former president, said: "President Clinton is in good spirits and will continue to focus on the work of his foundation and Haiti's relief and long-term recovery efforts."

Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were with him at the hospital Thursday night, Schwartz said.

Hillary Clinton was scheduled to leave Friday on a planned trip to the Middle East, but her departure has been delayed until Saturday, a senior U.S. official said.

A spokesman for former President George W. Bush, who has been working closely with Clinton on Haiti earthquake relief and recovery efforts, said in a statement that Bush spoke with Chelsea Clinton on Thursday afternoon and "was glad to hear that her father is doing well and that his spirits are high."

Clinton hasn't left the public eye since he departed the White House in 2001, maintaining an active schedule devoted to global philanthropic interests and speeches.

Since the January 12 earthquake that hit Haiti, he has traveled there twice in his latest role as the U.N. special envoy. On February 3, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon placed Clinton in charge of overseeing aid and reconstruction efforts there. Clinton also attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 at New York-Presbyterian. Doctors in 2005 removed scar tissue and fluid that had built up after that surgery.

David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst, said Clinton was "exhausted" and had a cold after returning from his second trip to Haiti earlier this month.

Clinton had busy schedule before heart procedure

Sources close to Clinton said the former president is hard to slow down and has ignored friends' advice that he take better care of himself.

"He still works long days and stays up very, very late," a friend of Clinton's said. "He has gone from a frenetic pace to what most people would consider a frenetic pace."

Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, said Clinton apparently was on a conference call about Haiti as he was being wheeled into the operating room Thursday.

"He was working right up until the last second," he said.

The friend said that although Clinton's diet has improved since his 2004 quadruple bypass surgery, "he certainly indulges every once in a while consistent with past behavior, [for example] fries with his fish."

However, Band, citing the former president's doctors, said Clinton's symptoms Thursday weren't related to work, diet or cholesterol.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner of George Washington University, cardiologist for former Vice President Dick Cheney, said the symptoms Clinton had Thursday sound typical of angina or ischemia, which happens when blood flow to the heart muscle is decreased by a blocked coronary artery.

"The president had new symptoms suggestive a blockage of one of his arteries or a blockage in one of his bypass grafts, which is probably more likely," he said.

After bypass surgery, bypass grafts don't always have an indefinite longevity, Reiner said. It's not uncommon for a bypass graft to have a problem years after surgery, he said.

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