Dick Cheney in/out of hospital.

[buttmunch]

WASHINGTON Jan 9, 2006 — Vice President Dick Cheney was taken to George Washington Hospital early Monday experiencing shortness of breath, a spokeswoman said.

Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said Cheney was rushed to the hospital at 3 a.m. Doctors found his EKG, or electrocardiogram, unchanged and determined he was retaining fluid because of medication he was taking for a foot problem.

Cheney, who has a long history of heart problems and has a pacemaker, was placed on a diuretic at the hospital.


McBride said the vice president was expected to be released from the hospital later Monday.

A foot ailment forced Cheney to use a cane on Friday.

McBride said the foot condition was not related to surgery last September to repair aneurysms behind both knees or the 64-year-old vice president's lengthy history of heart problems. He has had four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, two artery-clearing angioplasties and an operation to implant a special pacemaker in his chest.

A side effect of some anti-inflammatory medications is fluid retention, which can cause swelling and shortness of breath and strain the heart muscle.

Fluid can also leave the circulatory system and accumulate in various parts of the body, including the lungs, which can cause a shortness of breath.

The condition is usually treated with a diuretic.

Cheney has a long history of health problems and suffered his first heart attack in 1978 when he was 37. Ten years later, after his third heart attack, he had quadruple bypass surgery to clear clogged arteries.

Cheney, who has not suffered a heart attack since he became vice president in 2001, began a daily exercise program in 2000 and started eating healthier.

He quit smoking in 1978 and takes medication to lower his cholesterol.

AP

[ourmaninBusan]

He has had four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, two
artery-clearing angioplasties and an operation to implant a special
pacemaker in his chest.

Cheney has a long history of health problems and suffered his first
heart attack in 1978 when he was 37 . Ten years later, after his
third heart attack, he had quadruple bypass surgery to clear clogged arteries.

Gee, do you think he has some inner conflicts that are wreaking havoc
with his health?

Seriously. If you've ever seen the movie Nixon, there's a scene where
Tricky Dick and Mao are having a conversation, and Nixon makes a remark
about the war and its objectives. Mao, no saint himself, remarks
philosophically that they are not fighting each other -- they are
working out inner demons by going to war.

Then there is a shot of Nixon, and (director) Oliver Stone superimposes
footage of B-52s dropping their bomb payloads on the jungle...
it's creepy.

[buttmunch]

The weird thing about this is that both Fox and Drudge have ignored the story. I guess that don't want to freak out the faithful.

**edit: I take that back...Drudge just put a little thing on the side, but it was hours after everyone else and not in his usual huge headlines with rotating copper light.

[Grimmlok]

It's too bad he couldn't have paid a permanent visit to the morgue.

[weedeater]

so if he died, who would be the VP?
I guess I was sleeping in that part of govt class

[buttmunch]

It's the Speaker of the House, currently DeLay lapdog J. Dennis Hastert, although that will probably change with the current shakeup.

And here's something scary...Rummy, as Sec of Defense, is just 6 heartbeats away from the presidency...Gonzolez is seven. *shudders*

[Glasgow53]

Too bad he is out of the hospital. I wish God would just take care of him for us.....