Cheney leaves hospital after angioplasty

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney was released from the hospital Tuesday, a day after undergoing a surgical procedure to repair a damaged artery.

The vice president walked out of George Washington University Hospital, shook hands with his doctors and was driven away. "Good," he said in response to a reporter's shouted question about how he felt.

Cheney was up about 7 a.m. and was "antsy" to leave, said senior aide Mary Matalin. Three sets of cardiac enzyme tests showed no damage to Cheney's heart muscle, and "multiple EKGs have been unchanged," she said.

Cheney will rest at home and likely will return to work later this week.

"No restrictions have been placed on his work," Fleischer said. He said President Bush had not spoken with Cheney about his work schedule, but the president "expects him to follow his doctor's orders."

The procedure Cheney underwent Monday was prompted by "a common complication" of his prior heart procedure, not a progression of heart disease, Matalin said.

Cheney should be able to continue in his job unimpeded by his latest heart problems, doctors say, shrugging off any suggestion that he should curtail travel or his intense workload.

Cheney also was given some tough news after he had an angioplasty to unclog a coronary artery Monday. Even if he sticks to his no-beef diet and rigorous workout regimen, there is a fair chance he will be back in the hospital facing the same trouble soon, his physicians said.

"Well, it's possible for the narrowing to come back, and I think I quoted around 40 percent," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who performed the surgery at George Washington University, told a news conference.