LOS ANGELES — Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a heart transplant Saturday morning after waiting more than 20 months on a transplant list, his office reported. LOS ANGELES — Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a heart transplant Saturday
LOS ANGELES — Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a heart transplant Saturday morning after waiting more than 20 months on a transplant list, his office reported.
Cheney, 71, received the new organ from an anonymous donor and was recovering in the Intensive Care Unit of Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., after undergoing the surgery.
“Although the former Vice President and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift,” aide Kara Ahern said in a statement.
Cheney has battled a lifetime of heart disease, suffering his first of five heart attacks at age 37 and the most recent one in 2010, after which he had a device surgically inserted to assist blood flow through his heart.
The device, known as an LVAD, or left ventricular assist device, has been described as a temporary therapy representing a “bridge” to a transplant. The device had been implanted in the same Virginia hospital where his transplant took place.
In July 2010, when the device was implanted, the Los Angeles Times reported Cheney may not be a good candidate for a heart transplant, primarily because of his age. Surgeons typically prefer to reserve them for younger patients with longer life expectancies due to the scarcity of available hearts.
There is no upper age limit for a heart transplant, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute says on its website, though most transplant surgeries are done on patients younger than 70.
