Cheney returns to work after implant

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney returned to work Monday morning, after being fit over the weekend with a device to correct any irregular heart rhythm he may experience.

A spokeswoman for Cheney, 60, said the vice president was "feeling great," having spent Sunday at home relaxing with his family. Cheney has no public events scheduled for Monday.

Despite Cheney's long history of heart trouble, medical experts said Saturday's surgery should not be seen as an indication that the vice president's health has deteriorated. Cheney walked out of the hospital Saturday afternoon after the morning procedure, pronouncing himself in "good shape."

VIDEO CNN's Rea Blakey introduces a man who has the same type of implanted heart device the vice president received (July 1) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   INFORMATION Constitutional procedure if the vice president steps down     TRANSCRIPT Vice president on his latest heart problem     RESOURCES TIME.com:A heart-to-heart about Dick Cheney   Web MD.com:Dick Cheney in high-risk heart category   Web MD.com:Coronary artery disease     ALSO Cheney's heart woes parallel advances in technology   Cheney is point man for administration   Chronology of Cheney's heart problems

Cheney, former congressman, defense secretary and White House chief of staff, has suffered four heart attacks since 1978. The most recent was after last November's election, and he underwent angioplasty treatment to open a clogged artery in March.

Dr. Edward Platia, a cardiologist at Washington Hospital Center, said the device implanted Saturday will "offer protection" against potentially deadly arrhythmias, which may not ever materialize.

"This sort of electrical problem is a relatively common one in the setting of heart artery disease and doesn't mean that the heart muscle function has deteriorated necessarily," Platia said on CNN's "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer."

Dr. Douglas Zipes, president of the American College of Cardiology and co-editor of a textbook on the procedure, said the device should prevent unforeseen problems, and the vice president could resume a normal schedule.

"He's in perfect shape now to continue full activity and know he's protected from having any serious problems," he said on Fox News on Sunday.

He described the ICD defibrillator as a "self-contained emergency room in the chest" that monitors the heartbeat.

"Should the heartbeat get too slow, it will pace it to make it go faster. If the heartbeat gets too fast, it will act to slow it down. The patient needs not think about this at all," Zipes said.

Zipes said if the device merely paces the heartbeat, Cheney won't feel anything.

"In contrast, if he gets a shock from the device -- and this device can deliver the shock much like you see on (the television show) 'ER' or something with paddles on the chest, the device does it from inside the heart -- then that is something that he will feel, and patients describe it anywhere from a giant hiccup to a mule kick in the chest," Zipes said.

Aides said Cheney will spend the Fourth of July in Washington and then head to his home state of Wyoming later in the week.

On Saturday, President George W. Bush expressed his confidence in Cheney and his health.

"I don't think he ought to slow down," Bush told reporters during a Camp David summit with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "I think he ought to listen to his body, which he has been doing. I think he ought to work at a pace that he is comfortable with."

Bush said if he told Cheney to slow down, the vice president would say "forget it" because he has a job to do.

Cheney's doctors call him a model heart patient, noting his four-day-per-week workout regimen, his observance of dietary restrictions and his loss of 20 to 25 pounds in recent months.

They said they will encourage him to focus on aerobics for the next few weeks and not engage in vigorous upper-body exercise until his chest area around the device has healed.

CNN White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace contributed to this report.