Clinton’s bypass surgery a success

FORMER US President Bill Clinton underwent successful heart bypass surgery yesterday at a Manhattan hospital and was resting comfortably, his spokesman said.

The medical team that performed the procedure at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia planned a press briefing later to discuss the surgery.

“The surgery was successful and the president is resting comfortably,” said Clinton’s spokesman Jim Kennedy.

Earlier, an aide to Mrs Clinton said “everything has been going smoothly”.

Mr Clinton, 58, went into hospital on Friday after suffering chest pains and shortness of breath.

The former president and his family issued a statement on the Clinton Foundation’s website on Sunday, saying they felt “blessed and grateful for the thousands of prayers and messages of goodwill we have received these past few days.

“While bypass surgery certainly isn’t something to look forward to, we are very lucky that the condition was detected in time to have this procedure before something more serious occurred.”

The website said Mr Clinton had received more than 30,000 get well messages during the past few days.