V.P. Cheney has a heart...condition

[RecycleMichael]

This story from AP...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_irregular_heartbeat;_ylt=Au1QS7bNolguCAQ6tJE4mBKs0NUE

Cheney experiences irregular heartbeat By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart problems, experienced an irregular heartbeat Monday and was taken to George Washington University Hospital for evaluation.

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.

She said Cheney went to the hospital around 5 p.m. She said that if necessary, he would be receive cardioversion, a procedure that involves the delivery of an electric impulse to the heart. 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. Other options include anti-arrhythmic drugs or, for severe a-fib, surgical procedures to interrupt the faulty heartbeat. Cheney has had four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, two artery-clearing angioplasties and an operation to implant a defibrillator six years ago. In July he had surgery to replace the defibrillator which monitors his heartbeat.

The type of defibrillator Cheney has is used to prevent sudden death from a very different type of irregular heartbeat that starts in the bottom of the heart. The atrial fibrillation, in contrast, requires a different type of treatment. In 2005, Cheney had six hours of surgery on his legs to repair a kind of aneurysm, a ballooning weak spot in an artery that can burst if left untreated. In March, doctors discovered that he had a deep venous thrombosis in his left lower leg. After an ultrasound in late April, doctors said the clot was slowly getting smaller.

[RecycleMichael]

I still believe in conspiracies...

Cheney resigns quickly allowing President Bush to appoint who he wants to be his successor. That person suddenly catapults to the lead as the republican nominee.

Could it be one of the ones already in?

McCain, Brownback, Thompson, Guiliani...

Maybe someone completely new...

Jeb Bush, Condaleeza, J.C. Watts...

[Ed W]

Bush appoints a new vice president?  I thought the line of succession put the speaker of the house next in line, and then the Senate had to confirm it.  Wasn't that how we got Jerry Ford?

I'll have to dig out a copy of the old, dusty Constitution.  I'm sure there's a copy around here somewhere.  Maybe Bush and Co. can lend me their's 'cause they surely aren't using it.

[Rico]

"Speaker" only enters the picture if both the Prez and Vice are gone.........
(that is of course... unless you pardon Richard Nixon)

Cheney's heart condition is mentioned in Indian folklore.........

The loose translation being...
black heart $green cash$.....!

it is written...

[rwarn17588]

Vice presidents are appointed by the president, which have to be confirmed by Congress.

A 2001 article deals with the departed-veep scenario:

http://www.slate.com/id/1007199/

Seven veeps have died in office (including two that croaked under Madison) and two have resigned. It's not a new thing.

As for recyclemichael's paranoia, no amount of Teflon would keep a new veep from acquiring the stink of the Bush Administration. Bush remains a deeply unpopular president, and any association with him would hurt, not help, a candidate with the general electorate.

[RecycleMichael]

I disagree.

The vice president would be an "independent" guy who would find the right sound bites to "disagree" with where the country is going.

He would have "on the job training" and have access to the "foreign intelligence" making him stand out from the others.

The media attention would make him a star.

[Conan71]

Total wet-dream fantasy, RM.  Dick Cheney died in 2001.  The man you see now is a hologram.  He's here for the duration.

Alt told me this, so it must be true because he speaks da troof!

[cannon_fodder]

I was under the impression that Dick "go f!!k yourself" Cheney had no heart.

[FOTD]

"After electrical shocks put his heart back into regular rhythm, Dick Cheney is back to work. Some suspect his new doctor may be anti-war because during the procedure, the Vice President was forced to stand on a piece of wood and wear a black hood."
Tony Peyser


Who would Bush pick if Cheney died or became incapacitated?  Rice, Thompson, or MISTA 911.