Former Vice President Dick Cheney is recovering after undergoing heart transplant surgery on Saturday.
Two years ago, Cheney had a ventricular assist device implanted for treatment of end stage heart failure. He was on a heart transplant waiting list for more than 20 months. The 71-year-old Cheney is recovering in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Falls Church, Virginia.
In a statement, Cheney's office thanked the family of the unknown heart donor. Cheney last suffered a heart attack in 2010, his fifth since the age of 37. He had bypass surgery in 1988, as well as two subsequent angioplasties to clear narrowed coronary arteries.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
