The former Vice President Dick Cheney is recovering after undergoing a heart transplant at a Virginia hospital Saturday. According to NBC, he was in the Intensive Care Unit of Inova Fiarfax Hospital in Falls Church.
According to reports, the 71-year-old has been on the cardiac transplant list for almost two years and was one of more than 3,000 Americans on the waiting list.
“Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift,” aide Kara Ahern said in a written statement that was authenticated by several of the Republican politician’s close associates, reported Washington Examiner.
Heart trouble is nothing new for Cheney, who has a long history heart problems. According to the Associated Press, he’s suffered five heart attacks over the years starting when he was 37 years old with his most recently in 2010, when he had his fifth heart attack.
Over the years, he’s had many procedures due to his heart trouble. In 1988, he reportedly had a quadruple bypass and two artery-clearing angioplasties. He also had a pacemaker implanted which was later replaced in 2007.
The AP reported that in 2o10, he underwent a procedure and had a small pump installed in his heart. Reportedly the pump took over the job of the heart’s main pumping chamber and was powered by batteries worn in a fanny pack.
Cheney, who served as vice president for eight years of George Bush’s presidency, noted that the pump made it awkward to walk around. He used the pump while he was still undecided on a transplant.
He later made his decision: he would join the national transplant waiting list.
