Former US president Ford undergoes surgery

Former US President Gerald Ford underwent an angioplasty procedure at the Mayo Clinic, his spokeswoman said today.

Stents were placed in two of his coronary arteries to increase blood flow during the procedure performed yesterday, according to the statement from Penny Circle.

She said Ford, 93, was resting comfortably in his hospital room.

Mayo Clinic spokesman John Murphy confirmed the procedure, but would not comment further.

Ford was admitted to the clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, on August 15 for tests and evaluation. He was fitted with an implantable cardiac pacemaker on Monday.

Ford spent a few days in Colorado’s Vail Valley Medical Centre in July because of shortness of breath. In January, he was in hospital for 12 days in Rancho Mirage, California, to treat pneumonia. Five years ago, Ford suffered two small strokes and spent about a week in a hospital.

Ford became the nation’s oldest living former president after the death of Ronald Reagan in 2004.

Republican Ford was chosen by President Richard Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned, as vice president in 1973.

Ford became president on August 9, 1974, when Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal.

Ford and his wife live in Rancho Mirage.