Ex-Vice-President Cheney in hospital with chest pains

Mr Cheney has a history of heart problems and has a pacemaker

Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney has been taken to hospital in Washington after experiencing chest pains, his office has said.

They said Mr Cheney, 69, was "resting comfortably" at George Washington University Hospital and his doctors were evaluating the situation.

Mr Cheney, who left office in January last year, has a history of heart problems.

He has had four heart attacks and quadruple bypass surgery.

Hospital doctors told NBC News that the former vice-president was stable and may receive additional treatment on Tuesday.

The television network said that Mr Cheney had had an angiogram test so that doctors could look into his coronary arteries, and that the results showed he might need more treatment.

AFP reported that Mr Cheney was due to meet former US President George W Bush and other members of the Bush administration on Friday, for the first time since they left office in January 2009.

Mr Cheney has undergone several operations to clear blocked arteries and was fitted with a pacemaker in 2001.

In October 2008 he underwent treatment to correct an abnormal heart rhythm.