Former Vice President Dick Cheney has revealed that he had surgery last week to have a pump implanted in his heart. Cheney has survived five heart attacks. Implantation of the device, known as a “bridge to transplant,” points to serious medical trouble, Reuters reports.

Reuters:

LVADs help maintain the pumping ability of a heart that cannot work effectively on its own. They are usually implanted only in patients with severe heart failure and are nicknamed a “bridge to transplant,” according to the American Heart Association.

Congestive heart failure is a chronic condition that develops as the heart loses its ability to pump properly and gradually enlarges.

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