Friday, February 12, 2010
NEW YORK: Former US president Bill Clinton underwent a sudden heart operation Thursday after complaining of chest pains, but was in good spirits afterwards, a statement from his advisor said.
"Today President Bill Clinton was admitted to the Columbia Campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital after feeling discomfort in his chest," said the statement from Douglas Band sent to a French news agency.
"Following a visit to his cardiologist, he underwent a procedure to place two stents in one of his coronary arteries."
Clinton, 63, "is in good spirits, and will continue to focus on the work of his foundation and Haiti's relief and long-term recovery efforts," Band added.
Clinton, who is married to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 to free four blocked arteries.
Clinton: The big-living ex-president who won't slow down
Hillary Clinton, who is due to leave Friday for a trip to the Middle East, was Thursday heading to New York city after meeting earlier with President Barack Obama at the White House, a State Department official said.
Stent tubes are inserted into the body to prevent constrictions by unblocking arteries and assisting blood flow.
Clinton, who is now the special UN envoy to Haiti, is famously known for not having slowed down since he left office in 2001 after serving two four-year terms in the White House.
"He doesn't have an accelerator, but a switch, and that switch is on 23 hours a day, and that is one speed, full speed ahead," James Carville, Bill Clinton's campaign manager, told CNN.
He also acknowledged the former president's lasting popularity.
"He's a really fascinating guy to spend time with. It is amazing to see him the way he focuses on people," Carville said.
Just last week Clinton paid his second visit to Haiti in a bid to get aid moving to the Caribbean nation struck by a 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12, and apologized for the slow arrival of relief supplies.
But the former president rejected suggestions he had in effect become governor of Haiti, with which he has had long ties.
"What I don't want to be is the governor of Haiti. I want to build the capacity of the country to chart its own course."
Since his departure from office in January 2001, Clinton has through his foundation battled to raise awareness of AIDS, pushed for tsunami recovery and pressed for more relief to Haiti.
The Arkansas poor boy who rose to the nation's top political office has also travelled the world appearing at conferences, often earning huge fees, or backing his favored causes for free.
While in the White House, Bill Clinton famously indulged his appetites, including junk food, but in his post-presidential days he appeared to have been adhering to a stricter diet as well as a busy work schedule.
Clinton was sworn in on January 20, 1993 as the 42nd US president and the first Democrat to hold the highest office in 12 years. He won a second term in 1996.
He remains hugely influential on the US political landscape, and is revered by Democrats for presiding over an economic boom time in the United States.
But his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky during his presidency, and the impeachment proceedings that followed, tarnished his political legacy.
Clinton's foundation, which has raised millions for worthy causes, in 2003 negotiated agreements with several major pharmaceutical companies to discount AIDS drug prices for the developing world, which has been worst hit by the disease but can least afford the medicines needed to treat it.
He was a fierce supporter of his wife's 2008 White House campaign, along with the couple's only child Chelsea, who is due to marry this summer.
After a bitter battle for the Democratic Party nomination which went right down to the wire, Bill Clinton and Obama only buried the hatchet in late October 2008.
They joined forces for the first time at a rally in Kissimmee, Florida just days before the historic November election.
"The presidential campaign is the greatest job interview in the world. And... you get to make the hire," Clinton told the rally, swallowing his resentment at his wife's defeat.
"This is not a close question. If you make the decision based on who can best get us out of the ditch... I think it's clear the next president should be, and with your help will be, Senator Barack Obama," he said.
NEW YORK: Former US president Bill Clinton underwent a sudden heart operation Thursday after complaining of chest pains, but was in good spirits afterwards, a statement from his advisor said.
"Today President Bill Clinton was admitted to the Columbia Campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital after feeling discomfort in his chest," said the statement from Douglas Band sent to a French news agency.
"Following a visit to his cardiologist, he underwent a procedure to place two stents in one of his coronary arteries."
Clinton, 63, "is in good spirits, and will continue to focus on the work of his foundation and Haiti's relief and long-term recovery efforts," Band added.
Clinton, who is married to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 to free four blocked arteries.
Clinton: The big-living ex-president who won't slow down
Hillary Clinton, who is due to leave Friday for a trip to the Middle East, was Thursday heading to New York city after meeting earlier with President Barack Obama at the White House, a State Department official said.
Stent tubes are inserted into the body to prevent constrictions by unblocking arteries and assisting blood flow.
Clinton, who is now the special UN envoy to Haiti, is famously known for not having slowed down since he left office in 2001 after serving two four-year terms in the White House.
"He doesn't have an accelerator, but a switch, and that switch is on 23 hours a day, and that is one speed, full speed ahead," James Carville, Bill Clinton's campaign manager, told CNN.
He also acknowledged the former president's lasting popularity.
"He's a really fascinating guy to spend time with. It is amazing to see him the way he focuses on people," Carville said.
Just last week Clinton paid his second visit to Haiti in a bid to get aid moving to the Caribbean nation struck by a 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12, and apologized for the slow arrival of relief supplies.
But the former president rejected suggestions he had in effect become governor of Haiti, with which he has had long ties.
"What I don't want to be is the governor of Haiti. I want to build the capacity of the country to chart its own course."
Since his departure from office in January 2001, Clinton has through his foundation battled to raise awareness of AIDS, pushed for tsunami recovery and pressed for more relief to Haiti.
The Arkansas poor boy who rose to the nation's top political office has also travelled the world appearing at conferences, often earning huge fees, or backing his favored causes for free.
While in the White House, Bill Clinton famously indulged his appetites, including junk food, but in his post-presidential days he appeared to have been adhering to a stricter diet as well as a busy work schedule.
Clinton was sworn in on January 20, 1993 as the 42nd US president and the first Democrat to hold the highest office in 12 years. He won a second term in 1996.
He remains hugely influential on the US political landscape, and is revered by Democrats for presiding over an economic boom time in the United States.
But his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky during his presidency, and the impeachment proceedings that followed, tarnished his political legacy.
Clinton's foundation, which has raised millions for worthy causes, in 2003 negotiated agreements with several major pharmaceutical companies to discount AIDS drug prices for the developing world, which has been worst hit by the disease but can least afford the medicines needed to treat it.
He was a fierce supporter of his wife's 2008 White House campaign, along with the couple's only child Chelsea, who is due to marry this summer.
After a bitter battle for the Democratic Party nomination which went right down to the wire, Bill Clinton and Obama only buried the hatchet in late October 2008.
They joined forces for the first time at a rally in Kissimmee, Florida just days before the historic November election.
"The presidential campaign is the greatest job interview in the world. And... you get to make the hire," Clinton told the rally, swallowing his resentment at his wife's defeat.
"This is not a close question. If you make the decision based on who can best get us out of the ditch... I think it's clear the next president should be, and with your help will be, Senator Barack Obama," he said.
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