CBS News/ January 18, 2011, 2:46 PM

Dick Cheney's Heart: Is it Working?

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Nov. 16, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. (Getty)

(CBS/AP) Dick Cheney's heart is running on batteries and he might need a replacement.

On Tuesday, the former Vice President told NBC, "I'll have to make a decision at some point whether I want to go for a transplant," adding "the technology is getting better and better." He also said he has been making do with a battery-powered heart pump which makes it "awkward to walk around."

It's been a tough go for the 69-year-old. who was once a heart beat away from the presidency.

He suffered a heart attack last year, his fifth since the age of 37. He had bypass surgery in 1988, as well as two subsequent angioplasties to clear narrowed coronary arteries.

In 2001, he had a special pacemaker implanted in his chest. In 2008, doctors shocked his heart to restore its normal rhythm. That was the second time in less than a year that he had experienced and been treated for an atrial fibrillation, an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America, claiming more than 600,000 lives in 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There are more than 1 million heart attacks each year. Inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure and cigarette smoking are key risk factors.

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19 Comments Add a Comment

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rf35 says:: His heart hasn't worked in ages. Why would anyone expect it to start now?; reply

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rjpfragas says:: He's not eligible for a heart at age 70. I hope he doesn't pull strings on this qualification. That would be unfair to all of us who are waiting for a heart ourselves. I'll bet he gets a heart and will get much better service than I will if I ever get a heart. So unfair.; reply

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powell237 says:: As a heart transplant recipient I find all of these comments to be totally disgusting. I know I arrived at this post late and maybe no one will read this but with comments like these from it's followers, it is clear to see why CBS is the least watched news in all of TV.; reply

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powell237 says:

As a heart transplant recipient I find all of these comments to be totally disgusting. I know I arrived at this post late and maybe no one will read this but with comments like these from it's followers, it is clear to see why CBS is the least watched news in all of TV.


peterb371 replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; I wouldn't make CBS the Scapegoat here. I( would just like to point out one obvious thing here. This miscreant would be taking a heart from a real human being. What I think is discusting is why you feel no discust for this animat that is personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of American Solsiers and hundres of thousnads of innocent people. Heart transplant or not,If you don't see and undestand that the last person on this planet that should be given on is this heartless bastard.

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brian_norwood says:: Could it be? Is Dick Cheney in his "final throes"?; reply

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doctor_know says:: What? Cheney has a heart now?; reply

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peterb371 says:: I just gotta get thius off my chest, and I wish I could say it to that miserable excuse for a human being face to face. There are real in Arizona who are going to die because of miserable pricks like you Because the can't afford an heart transplant. Because you and your minions we are in debt up past our eyeballs paying for your miserable God forsaken wars and we can't even take care of our own. You should be stripped of every penny you have and all your wourlsly posessions and thrown in the street. Then you would see what it's like to be at the mercy of others.
Frankly I'd almost be willing to go to hell just to find you and beat you into hamburger. I'm a non violent man by disposition, but for you I would man an exception. I hope you choke on a turd.; reply