02-14-2006, 12:50 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Apocalypse Nerd
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Latest news... CIA will assassinate Whittington:
Quote:
Hunter Shot by Cheney Suffers Mild Heart Attack
By MARIA NEWMAN
Published: February 14, 2006
The 78-year-old lawyer who was accidentally shot by Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday suffered a mild heart attack today after bird shot migrated to his heart, doctors in South Texas said, and he underwent a successful catheterization to determine the extent of the damage.
Doctors said Mr. Whittington had been moved back into the intensive care unit after undergoing the procedure at about 10 a.m. Eastern time, which showed that one BB-size pellet entered his heart. Peter Banko, the administrator of Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi, Tex., said Mr. Whittington suffered a minor and "asymptomatic heart attack" that was noted only after monitors picked up an irregular heart beat early this morning.
"Some of the bird shot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart in what we would say is a minor heart attack," Dr. Banko told reporters this afternoon at a news briefing outside the hospital.
Mr. Whittington's doctors, in consultation with White House doctors, determined that he should undergo the catheterization, which allowed doctors to send a dye into his arteries or veins all the way into his heart and helped detect the presence of the pellet, said Dr David Blanchard, the hospital's emergency room chief.
Mr. Whittington will remain in the hospital for at least another week to monitor his condition, the two hospital officials said.
"The BB is in a fixed position; it's not mobile," Dr. Blanchard said.
Mr. Whittington, a prominent Austin lawyer and long-time Republican supporter, has been described by family and friends as being in strong physical shape.
"We're dealing with an individual who has good coronary arteries," Dr. Blanchard said. "He is 78 years old. We know that."
But, the doctor said, the hospital is consulting with specialists, including those from the White House who first attended to Mr. Whittington when he was shot at a ranch in South Texas while hunting with the vice president, to make sure they detect any possible changes in his condition.
"We are very, very optimistic," Dr. Blanchard said.
Mr. Whittington suffered birdshot wounds to his face, neck, chest and rib cage from the pellets sprayed at him from 30 yards away by Mr. Cheney's shotgun.
The White House has been grappling with questions and criticism about why it took the better part of a day to disclose that Mr. Cheney had accidentally wounded his fellow hunter at the Armstrong Ranch in Texas and why even President Bush initially got an incomplete report on the shooting.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/po...rtner=homepage |
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