He added that his recent hospitalization should not affect his ability to serve as vice president. There shouldn't be any problems of any kind like that. Obviously, I always follow my doctor's advice. . . . All we have to do is get elected. Impaired blood flow through the arteries leading to the heart is a common cause of chest pains, such as those suffered by Cheney.
Balloon angioplasty is one option for remedying the problem.
The procedure begins with catheterization, in which a thin catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and threaded up to the arteries leading to the heart. A small, deflated balloon is threaded through the catheter to the site. The primary long-term risk of angioplasty is that the newly reopened vessel will close down again. To prevent this from occurring, surgeons often use stents, stainless steel mesh tubes that are collapsed, inserted through the catheter, and then reopened at the blockage site. There are now drugs that can greatly reduce the size of a heart attack if one acts sooner, rather than later.