|
Cheney In Good Health, No Heart Attack, Says Bush
by Eileen Byrne
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republican vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney was in good health and had not suffered a heart attack, presidential candidate George W. Bush said Wednesday.
Bush, speaking in Austin, Texas, said he had talked to Cheney earlier Wednesday by telephone and, "we had a very good conversation. He sounded really strong and he informed me that as a precautionary measure he went into the hospital.
"He was feeling chest pains and it turns out that subsequent tests, blood tests and the initial EKG showed that he had no heart attack. I am pleased to report that."
Cheney, 59, who has a history of heart trouble, was "free of any discomfort," Bush campaign communications director Karen Hughes said earlier.
Cheney, who underwent quadruple heart by-pass surgery in 1988, would remain in hospital for further tests, she said.
"Secretary Cheney was admitted to George Washington Hospital with chest and shoulder pain earlier this morning. His EKG shows no change and initial bloodwork shows that his cardiac enzymes are normal," Hughes said.
"He is now free of discomfort, but remains in the hospital for further tests and observation."
A former U.S. defense secretary under the administration of Bush's father, George Bush, Cheney suffered the first of three heart attacks in 1978.
The state of Cheney's health had been a subject of concern when Bush chose him as his running mate for the White House.
Bush deflected concern that Cheney's latest health problem would raise questions about his ability to serve as vice president.
"I think Dick Cheney will make a great vice president," Bush told journalists in Austin, Texas.
"Dick Cheney is healthy, he did not have a heart attack," Bush added.
Cheney's hospitalization came less than 12 hours after the Florida Supreme Court announced its unanimous decision overturning a lower court's ruling that had kept manually recounted ballots out of the final overall tally because they were not submitted by the statutory deadline of November 14th.
There was no indication the two events were related, but Bush's camp had reacted furiously to the decision calling it "unfair and unacceptable."
They did not immediately say what countermoves, if any, they would make.
|
