Cheney recovering after heart transplant

Former US vice president Dick Cheney had a heart transplant, after five heart attacks over the past 25 years and countless medical procedures.

Mr Cheney, 71, waited nearly two years for his new heart, the gift of an unknown donor.

An aide to Mr Cheney disclosed the surgery after it was over, and said the ex-vice president was recovering at a Virginia hospital.

"Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift," aide Kara Ahern said in a written statement.

Mr Cheney was recovering at the intensive care unit of Inova Fairfax Hospital after surgery earlier in the day.

The former vice president suffered a heart attack in 2010, his fifth since the age of 37.

That same year, he had surgery to have a small pump installed to help his heart keep working.

In January 2011, Mr Cheney said he was getting by on the battery-powered heart pump, which made it "awkward to walk around".

He also said he had not made a decision yet on a transplant, but that "the technology is getting better and better".

Mr Cheney said then that he'd "have to make a decision at some point whether I want to go for a transplant".