US Vice President Mr Dick Cheney was feeling well today and planned to return to work on Monday after having a device implanted in his chest over the weekend to guard against episodes of a rapid heartbeat, his spokeswoman said.
"He's doing great and he's relaxing in his house and he's looking forward to going back to work tomorrow," spokeswoman Ms Juleanna Glover Weiss said.
Doctors placed a pager-sized device in the vice president's chest yesterday after finding him susceptible to rapid heartbeats.
The implantable cardioverter defibrillator weighs less than 3 ounces (80 grams) and functions as a pacemaker to speed the heart rate, and as a defibrillator to slow it down. About 150,000 Americans have one.
Mr Cheney, 60, walked out of George Washington University Hospital a few hours after the surgery and said he was feeling well. He has had four heart attacks since 1978.
Senate Majority Leader Mr Tom Daschle said today he was not concerned about the possibility that Mr Cheney's health could force him to leave the White House before completing his four-year term.
"Obviously this has been a matter that the vice president's had to contend with for many years," Mr Daschle said on ABC's This Week. "He's done it successfully, and I have every expectation he'll continue to do so."