Doctors administer electrical shock to Cheney’s heart, restoring normal rhythm
WASHINGTON - Doctors administered an electrical shock Monday to Vice President Dick Cheney’s heart and restored it to a normal rhythm.
Cheney went home from George Washington University Hospital after the procedure was declared a success.
Cheney, who has a history of heart problems, spent about 2 ½ hours at the hospital after experiencing an irregular heartbeat early in the day.
The condition was detected when Cheney was seen by doctors around 7 a.m. at the White House for a lingering cough from a cold. He remained at work throughout the day, joining President Bush in meetings with Mideast leaders.
“During examination he was incidentally found to have an irregular heartbeat, which on further testing was determined to be atrial fibrillation, an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart,” said spokeswoman Megan Mitchell. He went to the hospital about 5 p.m. and was discharged about 7:30 p.m.
About 2.8 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat, and cases are increasing as the population ages.
The condition occurs when the heart’s top chambers, called the atria, get out of sync with the bottom chambers’ pumping action. It is not immediately life-threatening, and the heart sometimes gets back into rhythm on its own. Many times, patients aren’t aware of an episode of atrial fibrillation.
But if the irregular heartbeat continues, it eventually can cause a life-threatening complication - the formation of blood clots that can shoot to the brain and cause a stroke.
The main treatment is to try an electrical shock to restore normal heartbeat. If that doesn’t work, patients may need to take the blood thinner warfarin to reduce stroke risk.
“An electrical impulse was used to restore the upper chambers to normal rhythm,” Mitchell said. “The procedure went smoothly and without complication. The vice president has returned home and will resume his normal schedule tomorrow at the White House.”