by Marc Carnegie
NEW YORK, Sept 6 (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton was recovering on Monday after successful heart bypass surgery, New York Presbyterian Hospital and Clinton`s office said in a statement.
Clinton`s doctors were to give a press conference at 2000 GMT on the condition of the 58-year-old, who was hospitalised on Friday after complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath.
"The surgery was successful and the president is resting comfortably," the statement said.
Doctors determined that Clinton`s arteries were too badly damaged for less drastic treatment and recommended the bypass, a routine but delicate procedure in which the patient`s heart is stopped for a period of time.
The surgery was to have been led by Dr Craig Smith, head of the hospital`s cardiothoracic division.
Despite his condition, Clinton spoke from hospital for 90 minutes on Saturday to give advice to fellow Democrat John Kerry, whose presidential race against President George W. Bush has faltered, the New York Times reported.
"Republicans aren`t the only people who want four more years here," Clinton joked in a phone call with CNN on Friday.
"I may have done some damage in those years when I was too careless about what I ate," he said.
News of the president`s surgery on Monday`s US Labour Day holiday stole the media focus from Kerry`s campaign, already reeling from new polls showing Bush with a double-digit lead ahead of the November election.
Security was tight around the hospital, where the popular Clinton -- who was in office between 1993 and 2001 -- has been deluged with get well messages from around the world.
Both Bush and Kerry called Clinton as did Vice President Dick Cheney, who has suffered four heart attacks and underwent his own quadruple bypass surgery in 1988.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a message of support, and a huge number of bouquets have reportedly been sent to the ex-president`s hospital room.
Clinton`s wife, US Senator Hillary Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea spent the weekend with him at the hospital.
"We feel so blessed and grateful for the thousands of prayers and messages of good will we have received these past few days," the family said in a statement.
Ever the politicians, they added: "We are fortunate to have great health care coverage -- and continue to hope for the day when every American will enjoy this basic right."
Clinton has remained a force in the Democratic party since leaving office, and repeatedly dispensed advice to Democratic contenders during the primary election season.
Democratic party chairman Terry McAuliffe said Clinton had been expected to make 10 appearances for Kerry in September and campaign extensively for him in October, according to the New York Times.
A doctor who tested Clinton`s heart last week said the former president had "multi-vessel coronary artery disease," a condition sometimes treated by inserting a balloon into arteries to open clogged passages.
But Clinton`s heart was too extensively damaged for that more moderate treatment.