Posted on 09/04/2004 4:20:43 AM PDT by JesseHousman
NEW YORK - Bill Clinton said he was "a little scared, but not much" of undergoing heart bypass surgery, but was looking forward to a swift recovery and resuming normal activities such as jogging.
The former president was hospitalized Friday with chest pains and shortness of breath. The upcoming operation could limit his role in campaigning for fellow Democrat John Kerry, who is making a run for the White House.
"Let me just say this, Republicans aren't the only people who want four more years here," Clinton said in a live interview Friday evening on CNN's "Larry King Live."
An angiogram showed that Clinton, who turned 58 two weeks ago, had significant blockage in his heart arteries but did not suffer a heart attack, a doctor who performed the test told The Associated Press.
Clinton blamed the blockage in part on genetics but also said he "may have done some damage in those years when I was too careless about what I ate."
"I guess I'm a little scared, but not much," he said. "I'm looking forward to it. I want to get back. I want to see what it's like to run five miles again."
His wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said the former president would have surgery early next week and no further information about his condition would be released until the operation is finished.
"I wanted to report to you that my husband is doing very well," she said outside New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia, where the former president is being treated. "He's in great humor. He's beating all of us at cards and the rest of the games we're playing."
In bypass surgery, a new piece of blood vessel, usually taken from the patient's leg, is sewn into place to create a detour around a blockage. Patients typically spend three to five days in the hospital and are encouraged to be fairly active right away.
Clinton had agreed to campaign for Kerry in the two months before the Nov. 2 general election and had already appeared at some Democratic Party events.
Both President Bush and Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts, sent best wishes to Clinton.
During his two terms as president, Clinton was an avid jogger also known for his love of fast food. But in January, Clinton said he had cut out junk food after going on the popular "The South Beach Diet," which limits carbohydrates and fats, and started a workout regimen. He has appeared much thinner since early in the year.
The 6-foot-2 president has remained an active political presence since he left the White House in 2001, whether quietly stopping by his Harlem office or drawing a standing ovation for a rousing speech to Democrats at their July convention in Boston. Most recently, he was on the road plugging his memoirs, "My Life."
Before he suffered chest pains, Clinton had been scheduled to accompany his wife on a two-day tour of upstate New York. Instead, the senator and the couple's daughter, Chelsea, joined Clinton in New York City.
Sen. Clinton said her husband would "be back in fighting form before ... very long after the surgery and the period of necessary recovery passes."
She praised the hospital's medical staff and said: "We're delighted we have good health insurance. That makes a big difference. And I hope someday everybody will be able to say the same thing."
Clinton had a cancerous growth removed from his back shortly after leaving office. In 1996, he had a precancerous lesion removed from his nose and a year before that had a benign cyst taken off his chest.
But otherwise, Clinton suffered only the usual problems that often accompany normal aging and a taste for junk food _ periods of slightly elevated cholesterol and hearing loss. In 1997, he was fitted with hearing aids, and he also battled allergies.
Clinton first went to a hospital Thursday after suffering the chest pains and shortness of breath, his office said in a statement. He spent the night at his Chappaqua home.
On Friday, at the Westchester Medical Center, near his home, he was given an angiogram, in which dye is used to detect blockages or narrowing of coronary arteries. The test revealed "multivessel coronary artery disease, normal heart function and no heart attack," said Dr. Anthony Pucillo, who performed the procedure.
Pucillo said the blockage was significant enough to warrant an operation.
He said a mouthful!
He's probably wondering which of the doctors was bought off by his wife... ;-)
This is from militants at AP who define terrorists as "freedom fighters".
At least he'll be spared the car ride into Marcy Park.
He should not worry! Only the good die young!
my husband is convinced that he is in that hospital to participate in the filming of a porn flick with naughty nurses, not for heart surgery.
No one has as yet comented on the remarkable fact that last week, Bubba went inside a church, for the first time in years, lugging the old family Bibile, and delivered a horrendous political speech, inside a church, excoritating right wing Christain fundamentalist Republicans...a week later, this..hmm....maybe a warnign from the MAN upstairs?
"Clinton had agreed to campaign for Kerry in the two months before the Nov. 2 general election and had already appeared at some Democratic Party events."
IT'S OFFICIAL: THE ELECTION IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>Grow up. It's a serious operation with a lot of serious risks. I don't like Clinton but I don't wish him ill, either.<<
Please understand that people here are not wishing ill. We just know the Clinton body count. I personally am praying hard that Bill makes it through just fine. If something happens to him, Hillary becomes the greveing widow. It worked for Voniovich when one of his children was killed in a car accident. Hillary will soar.
I hope God is with him and his family. I despised the comments made about Reagan when he passed away. Hopefully this bypass surgery will not be a replay on the other side of the political coin. Prayers sent.
I wish Bill Clinton well and I thank him for his service with respect to the present political situation. I expect Bill Clinton's health and recovery will be a lot more interesting to most Democrats than that other guy and whatever it is he's grumbling about now... what's his name? Oh yeah, John Kerry. Is he still talking about Vietnam?
Thank you. If President Bush can wish Clinton a speedy recovery, so can we. This is not a time for the gloves to come off. He was a former president of the United States, no matter what his actions in office were, and should be respected as such.
Ditto! :)
Ditto. Beat him senseless on the playing field, not in a hospital bed.
Ditto. Beat him senseless on the playing field, not in a hospital bed.
I'll add my "dittos" to these sentiments.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.