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The 66-year-old and his wife, Lynne Cheney, arrived early Saturday at George Washington University Hospital, a short distance from the White House in the US capital. They left within hours, smiling and walking together, after the completion of the pacemaker procedure.

The battery in the defibrillator device was weakening, and surgeons replaced the entire pacemaker as a precaution due to its age.

Dick Cheney has had four heart attacks beginning when he was only 37 years old and is under constant medical supervision for his cardiac condition, which has required several procedures over the last 30 years including heart bypass surgery to replace blocked arteries.

His latest heart attack was in 2000, and he has had a pacemaker since 2001. As vice president, Cheney has been treated in recent years for heart-related circulatory and breathing problems.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur