New York (CNN) -- Former President Bill Clinton has shown "no evidence of heart attack or damage to his heart" and his prognosis is "excellent" after undergoing a procedure that restored blood flow in one of his coronary arteries, Clinton's doctor told reporters Thursday.

Clinton, 63, was hospitalized at the Columbia campus of New York-Presbyterian Hospital after experiencing brief periods of discomfort in his chest over several days, according to Dr. Allan Schwartz, the hospital's chief of cardiology.

Clinton went to the hospital, and two stents were used to restore blood flow to a coronary artery after a bypass graft -- which was part of a quadruple bypass surgery that Clinton underwent in 2004 -- was found to be blocked, Schwartz said.

"He's in good spirits, and we hope to have him go home tomorrow," Schwartz told reporters Thursday evening.

A source close to the former president said "he is fine" and will recuperate following the stent procedure.


A stent is a tiny tube that is inserted into a narrowed or blocked vessel to open it up and allow blood to travel through, according to CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta.

Stents and chest pain explained

In a written statement, Douglas Band, counselor to the former president, said: "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 daughter, Chelsea Clinton, was with her father, according to spokeswoman Julie Goldberg.

His wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, arrived in New York on Thursday night after leaving her weekly meeting at the White House with President Obama, a State Department official said.

Hillary Clinton's trip to the Middle East will be delayed until Saturday, a senior U.S. official said. She had been scheduled to depart Friday afternoon.

A spokesman for former President George W. Bush, who has been working closely with Clinton on Haiti earthquake relief and recovery efforts, said in a statement that Bush spoke with Chelsea Clinton on Thursday afternoon and "was glad to hear that her father is doing well and that his spirits are high."

Clinton hasn't left the public eye since he departed the White House in 2001, maintaining an active schedule devoted to global philanthropic interests and speeches.

Since the January 12 earthquake that hit Haiti, he has traveled there twice in his latest role as the U.N. special envoy. On February 3, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon placed Clinton in charge of overseeing aid and reconstruction efforts there. Clinton also attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 at New York-Presbyterian. Doctors in 2005 removed scar tissue and fluid that had built up after that surgery.

David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst, said Clinton was "exhausted" and had a cold after returning from his second trip to Haiti earlier this month.

Clinton had busy schedule before heart procedure

Sources close to Clinton said the former president is hard to slow down and has ignored friends' advice that he take better care of himself.

"He still works long days and stays up very, very late," a friend of Clinton's said. "He has gone from a frenetic pace to what most people would consider a frenetic pace."

Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, said Clinton apparently was on a conference call about Haiti as he was being wheeled into the operating room Thursday.

"He was working right up until the last second," he said.

The friend said that although Clinton's diet has improved since his 2004 quadruple bypass surgery, "he certainly indulges every once in a while consistent with past behavior, [for example] fries with his fish."

However, Band, citing the former president's doctors, said Clinton's symptoms Thursday weren't related to work, diet or cholesterol.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner of George Washington University, cardiologist for former Vice President Dick Cheney, said the symptoms Clinton had Thursday sound typical of angina or ischemia, which happens when blood flow to the heart muscle is decreased by a blocked coronary artery.

"The president had new symptoms suggestive a blockage of one of his arteries or a blockage in one of his bypass grafts, which is probably more likely," he said.

After bypass surgery, bypass grafts don't always have an indefinite longevity, Reiner said. It's not uncommon for a bypass graft to have a problem years after surgery, he said.

Bill Clinton hospitalized after chest discomfort, gets stents - CNN.com