Bill Clinton has heart procedure for chest pain

Former US President Bill Clinton has undergone a successful procedure to clear a block artery after being taken to hospital in New York yesterday complaining of chest pains. His wife Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, has left Washington for New York to be with him, and has delayed by a day a planned visit to the Persian Gulf.

Clinton, 63, has a history of heart trouble, undergoing quadruple bypass surgery in 2004. He is also well known for working at a frenetic pace and eating fast food.

Yesterday's angioplasty involved two stents being inserted into one of his coronary arteries.  Dr Allan Schwartz, head of cardiology at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital, told reporters that a bypass graft from the 2004 operation had became obstructed. It was now cleared and Clinton was expected to be sent home as early as Friday, and able to resume work on Monday.

"I expect President Clinton to resume his very active lifestyle," the doctor said.

The problem cropped up just days after a trip to Haiti. The former president is the UN special envoy to Haiti and, at President Barack Obama's request, is helping coordinate the nation's recovery from the January 12 earthquake.

Clinton spoke to Obama by phone last night. "He said that the efforts in Haiti were too important for him to be laid up for too long and hopes he'll be ready to get back to work as soon as possible," a White House official said.

He added that Clinton told the president that he felt "absolutely great". ·