Bill Clinton hospitalized at CUMC

Former President Bill Clinton underwent a heart procedure at New York-Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia University Medical Center on Thursday.

At a press conference in front of the hospital Thursday night, Chief of Cardiology Alan Schwartz said that the procedure went smoothly.

“The president has since been up and walking around, visiting with his family, in good spirits,” he said.

Clinton underwent a procedure to put two stents, which are metal mesh tubes, in one of his coronary arteries. Clinton had been complaining of chest discomfort, but tests did not show any evidence of heart attack or heart damage.

A hospital spokesperson confirmed to Spectator that Clinton was still a patient Thursday evening, and Schwartz said he expects Clinton to be released Friday.

“President Clinton is in good spirits and will continue to focus on the work of his foundation and Haiti’s relief and long-term recovery efforts,” Clinton’s aide, Douglas Band, said in a statement.

In 2004, CUMC’s Craig Smith operated on Clinton to clear four blocked arteries, also at Columbia Presbyterian. Smith is the chairman of College of Physicians and Surgeons’ surgery department and the Calvin F. Barber Professor of Surgery.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the procedure as a surgery. Spectator regrets the error.