Cheney out of hospital after mild heart attack

Last Updated: 2010-02-24 12:41:30 -0400 (Reuters Health)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Vice President Dick Cheney was discharged from a Washington hospital on Wednesday after being treated for a mild heart attack, his fifth in 32 years.

Cheney's office said Cheney was "feeling good this morning" and released from George Washington University Hospital.

"He will resume his normal schedule shortly," a statement said.

Cheney, 69, who was vice president under President George W. Bush, was hospitalized on Monday after suffering chest pains.

Lab testing revealed evidence of a mild heart attack. He underwent a stress test and a heart catheterization, in which a thin tube is threaded into a blood vessel in the arm or leg and inserted to the heart to determine if there are any blockages.

While in the hospital Cheney fielded phone calls from Vice President Joe Biden and Bush.

Cheney's previous heart attacks were in 1978, 1984, 1988 and 2000. The last one occurred shortly after the November 2000 election when he was elected vice president.