Former US president Bill Clinton was expected to make a full recovery and live out a normal life after four hours of open-heart surgery here on Monday that his team of doctors called routine.
The 58-year-old was awake but sedated and still on a breathing tube after the quadruple bypass operation, ordered after Clinton arrived in hospital on Friday complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath.
"He is recovering normally at this point, so I think everything looks straightforward," said Craig Smith, the head surgeon on the team that carried out the procedure at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Smith declined to set a date when the junk-food loving Clinton would be able to leave hospital, but indicated it could be within the usual four or five days after such a procedure.
"There was nothing in this case that was outside the realm of routine," Smith told a press conference.
The medical team, which included three surgeons, said Clinton had been having chest pains for months, and that they waited until Monday for surgery until blood-thinners had cleared his system, easing the risk of heavy bleeding.
Clinton, whose love of junk food is no secret, had been well on the way to a heart attack in the near future, and surgery was the only possible medical solution after a battery of testing on Friday, they said.
"The pictures of the arteries to his heart showed extensive blockage in each of the vessels supplying blood," said Dr Allan Schwartz.
"Several of the vessels had a blockage well over 90 percent," Schwartz said. "There was a substantial likelihood that he would have had a substantial heart attack in the near future."
Clinton's heart was stopped for 73 minutes during the operation, a now common but still delicate procedure, which bypasses blocked arteries so that blood can flow properly.
In a statement, Senator Hillary Clinton, his wife, and their daughter Chelsea thanked the hospital as well as the thousands worldwide who had sent the former president get-well messages.
"The president's optimism and faith will carry him through the difficult weeks and months ahead -- of that we have no doubt," they said. Doctors said they expected Clinton to resume normal activity, including getting back out on the campaign trail to help fellow Democrat John Kerry in his White House run against President George W. Bush.
"He will resume an entirely normal exercise and work schedule," Schwartz said. "I would encourage him to resume all activities, including campaigning, as we both deem that safe and appropriate." But doctors warned that his days of hamburgers and French fries will likely be a thing of the past.
"His future diet is going to play a major role in preventing recurrence," Schwartz said.
Clinton had lost weight recently thanks to a popular US diet but his medical team said that his heart had become badly blocked over time.
RSS