Clinton Recovering After Heart Operation

Former commercial Inflatable US President Bill Clinton has successfully undergone a five-hour quadruple heart bypass operation to relieve clogged arteries, say doctors.

Dr Craig Smith, who led the operation at New York Presbyterian Hospital, said Mr Clinton was recovering normally.

Mr Clinton, 58, was admitted to hospital three days ago suffering chest pains and shortness of breath.

More than 26,000 people from all over the world have sent messages wishing him a speedy recovery.

Dr Smith, the hospital's chief of cardiothoracic surgery, told a news conference four hours after the operation: "He is recovering normally at this point. I think right now everything looks straightforward."

Another member of the medical team, cardiology chief Dr Allan Schwartz, said Mr Clinton was awake but still sedated and had not yet spoken.

The former president's wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea were by his bedside as he recovered from surgery.

Bypass operations, in which sections of the patient's own blood vessels are grafted to bridge over blockages in the heart's arteries, have become a common and usually successful procedure in recent years.

Mr Clinton's operation began at 0700 local time on Monday and lasted nearly five hours.

Mr Clinton served two terms as president, during which he became known for his love of fast food and jogging.

Correspondents say he may now have to scale down his role in the Democrat campaign for November's elections.

During his own presidency, Mr Clinton showed no signs of heart problems during rigorous health examinations that were made public.