Former United States President Bill Clinton was reportedly hospitalized on the afternoon of February 11, 2010. Clinton was taken to a hospital in New York City for a heart problem.http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/president-bill-clinton-rushed-york-hospital/story?id=9810992
Clinton reportedly suffered chest pains and was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. In a statement released by assistant Douglas Band, two stents were placed in one of his coronary arteries. Clinton was listed in good condition following the procedure.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/02/bill-clinton-hospitalized-in-nyc-with-chest-pains-two-days-after-complaining-of-feeling-ill.html
A stent procedure is a technique used during angioplasty, where a metal mesh tube is inserted into a artery to clear any blockage. Along with a balloon that is inserted during an angioplasty, a stent keeps the artery open, allowing blood to flow through it.http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4721
Previous Heart Problems
Bill Clinton underwent heart surgery in September 2004 at the same Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. The surgery was a success and the former President left the hospital four days later. Doctors performed a quadruple bypass operation, clearing up to 90% blockages in his arteries. The surgery was a result of chest pains and shortness of breath for several months.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5906976/ He returned to the hospital in 2005 to allow scar tissue and fluid that built up after the surgery to be removed.http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/11/bill.clinton/
