Clinton ‘a little scared’ as he prepares for bypass surgery
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The former president said he was “a little scared, but not much” of the surgery, but was looking forward to a swift recovery and resuming normal activities such as jogging.
He 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.
Vice President Dick Cheney, who has had four heart attacks, called Clinton from Las Vegas and wished him well. Anne Womack, Cheney’s spokeswoman, said the former president “sounded good.”
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.