Clinton off respirator after op

Doctors said Clinton had been heading for a major heart attack

Former US President Bill Clinton is breathing on his own after undergoing a five-hour quadruple heart bypass operation to relieve clogged arteries.

Doctors said he was recovering well but would need two to three months to return to full health.

They revealed that Mr Clinton, 58, had been in imminent danger of a major heart attack before the operation.

Correspondents say he will now be sidelined for much of the Democrat campaign for November's elections.

"President Clinton is off the breathing tubes, and he is doing just fine," said Dr Craig Smith, who led the operation at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

He is expected to remain at the hospital for another four or five days.

Click here to see how a heart bypass operation works

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.

He was admitted to hospital last Friday suffering chest pains and shortness of breath and underwent surgery on Monday.

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

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

HEART BYPASS OPERATION

One or more arteries supplying the heart with blood become blocked, often by fatty deposits.

Blood vessels are taken from other parts of the body - usually internal mammary arteries supplying blood to the breastbones, but also possibly from the leg or arm.

During surgery, the heart may be stopped and the heart and lungs linked to a machine to continue circulating blood around the body.

The vessels are grafted on, from the aorta (the main artery leaving the heart) to a clear part of the artery beyond the blocked area.

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