Hunter Shot By Vice President Cheney Suffers Minor Heart Attack
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: He was hit in the face, neck and chest, but it's that last part of the body that's now of great concern for doctors treating the man accidentally shot by Vice President Dick Cheney. Harry Whittington is back in intensive care, after suffering a minor heart attack this morning. CNN's Ed Lavandera is outside the hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ed, it's clear now that the wounds are much worse than we were made to believe.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the last couple of days, doctors and friends of Harry Whittington had been saying that the wounds suffered from this buckshot wound were superficial, at best. But -- but, over the last day or so, one of the B.B.s from that buckshot has moved its way closer. It actually is touching the heart, from what we understand -- because of that, that it has caused some irritation in the heart -- doctors this morning, about 6:30 this morning, performing a cardiac catheterization to check the blood flow of Mr. Whittington's heart. And that is why he was put back in the intensive care unit this morning, where he will stay, we understand, for another seven days. There had also been talk, perhaps, of Mr. Whittington going home yesterday, or perhaps either today, or even as late as tomorrow. But now we understand that he will be here another seven days, around -- going under 'round-the-clock supervision, as doctors continue to see just what kind of damage these B.B.s might be causing internally. They say, so far, they only have evidence to suggest that only one of these B.B.s is actually touching the heart. And they say that he suffered a mild heart attack, but that is what they say is a -- a layman's term. This isn't the kind of heart attack most people have heard of, they say.</s>DR. DAVID BLANCHARD, CHRISTUS SPOHN HOSPITAL CORPUS CHRISTI- MEMORIAL EMERGENCY ROOM CHIEF: We picked up an irregular heartbeat. Bear in mind that, at no time, did he ever have any chest pain or the classic signs of a heart attack, anything like that. And we all know well that there are tens of thousands of people every year that have silent heart attacks that never even go into the doctor to be taken care of. But we figure probably some time around 6:30-ish this morning. We can't put a real timetable on exactly when it did occur, though.</s>LAVANDERA: Doctors continue to say, though, that Mr. Whittington could go on to live -- live a productive, healthy life, even with a lot of these B.B.s, perhaps 100 or so, still lodged in his body, that won't -- will not become a problem. They say it takes about two, three, maybe four days for these B.B.s to stop moving, as the scar tissue forms around -- around them, and -- and -- and they settle down. So, they will continue to watch the movement of these B.B.s. They do show up on X-rays, they say, but it's hard for them to pinpoint exactly where it is. And that's why doctors are saying, at this point, there are no plans to go in and remove the B.B. For a man of his age, to go in there, that -- that kind of surgery would be much more, perhaps, dangerous to him, than just monitoring at this point, because they don't know the exact location of it. Mr. Whittington, as far as we know, will continue stay here at the Corpus Christi Hospital. There are no plans to move him that we know of so far to Austin, where he lives -- Betty.</s>NGUYEN: Ed, you recently mentioned these other B.B.s. Perhaps maybe even 100 or so, is what you said. So, those are going to stay inside his body? They're not going to be removed?</s>LAVANDERA: Yes, that's what doctors say, that in -- in this case, to go -- the idea of going through and removing -- let's say there are 100. They don't know for sure, but if they were to go through and remove all of those, it would be a much too invasive procedure, and that, in these types of hunting accidents, that there are -- you know, in most cases, many of these people just continue to live with the B.B.s lodged in their bodies, and that is what is -- what is done in these cases. However, in this particular case, once it starts getting closer to the heart, that poses another -- another level of threat.</s>NGUYEN: I guess they're treating it kind of like shrapnel and just kind of leaving it in there.</s>LAVANDERA: Exactly.</s>NGUYEN: All right, CNN's Ed Lavandera, thank you for the latest there out of Corpus Christi -- Tony.</s>TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Betty, Harry Whittington is getting extensive care, besides the team of doctors in Texas. White House physicians are also involved in his treatment. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has details for us, in addition to a statement, I understand, Suzanne, from the vice president's office.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Tony. Of course, what we have been doing is, we have been tracking the vice, president, essentially, with this story. We saw the vice president enter the White House this morning for morning meetings in the West Wing. That is when this statement -- according to the statement, that he learned of this procedure that was done to Mr. Whittington, a cardiac catheterization. The vice president then went on to meetings on Capitol Hill. According to the statement, it was about 12:30 or so that his chief of staff handed him a note, essentially saying that there had been some complications regarding his condition, Mr. Whittington's condition, and that there was going to be a 1:00 press conference from the doctors explaining just what was occurring. The vice president then returned back to the White House, we understand, and he was actually watching part of that press conference unfold. After the press conference, at about 1:30, the vice president called Mr. Whittington. And, according to the statement, he spoke to him, saying: "The vice president wished Mr. Whittington well, asked him if there was anything that he needed. The vice president said that he -- he stood ready to assist. Mr. Whittington's spirits were good. But, obviously, his situation deserves the careful monitoring that his doctors are providing." What is very interesting to note here, Tony, about this, is that this is really the first official paper statement that we have gotten from the vice president -- president's office, even acknowledging that this happened. The only other statement that we got officially on paper about this was the fact that the vice president failed to pay a $7 stamp on his hunting license. So, this is really kind of a -- a turn, if you will, the kind of level of detail that we're now getting from the vice president's office regarding the update on his condition. Should also let you know as well, here at the White House, a couple of briefings with Scott McClellan, the press secretary -- a very interesting turn of developments. This -- this was a press conference -- or a briefing, rather, where the emphasis was all about moving on, moving forward. There were a lot of unanswered questions that we had about this incident, and, yet, they made it very, very clear that they are putting this aside. Let's take a listen.</s>SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't want to make this about anything other than what it is. It is what it is, David (ph). I was very respectful and responsive to your questions yesterday. I provided you the information I knew based on the facts that were available.</s>MALVEAUX: Clearly, there were a number of unanswered questions. First of all, I had asked whether or not there was any kind of dissatis -- sense of dis -- being dissatisfied by the president here, the fact that he did not hear directly from Cheney, that he was, in fact, the shooter in his incident. He heard it from his adviser Karl Rove. He heard it from his chief of staff, Andy Card, that line of communication. Later on, why was it that Scott McClellan didn't actually know or was aware that Cheney played that significant role in this incident until 12 hours later? Having said that, McClellan and others acknowledged that, yes, they would have done things differently the second time around, but, clearly, this White House, this administration, wanted to put this behind them. Obviously, Mr. Whittington's condition is of -- of great concern now.</s>HARRIS: White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux for us -- Suzanne, thank you -- Betty.</s>NGUYEN: Let's bring in a cardiologist to explain what happened to Harry Whittington. Dr. Paul Simonoff is with the WellStar Kennestone Hospital, right here in Atlanta. Doctor, we appreciate your time. So that we fully understand exactly what has happened with this birdshot, take us back to the fact that this piece of bird shot is lodged in the heart there, and the possibility that it could move and cause even more damage.</s>DR. PAUL SIMONOFF, CARDIOLOGIST, WELLSTAR KENNESTONE HOSPITAL: Well, this is indeed a very concerning. There -- there is a question as to whether the birdshot is lodged inside the heart muscle, or is located near the heart muscle. Doctors were alerted to this by virtue of Mr. Whittington demonstrating an irregular heartbeat.</s>NGUYEN: Like a minor heart attack, is what they said.</s>SIMONOFF: Well, the irregular heartbeat was a tipoff that there indeed was a problem.</s>NGUYEN: Mmm-hmm.</s>SIMONOFF: And that led the physicians to determine that, indeed, a -- a minor heart attack was sustained.</s>NGUYEN: So, should they be concerned at this point? What do you do to prevent or to make sure that this little piece of birdshot does not move into the heart?</s>SIMONOFF: This is something that his physicians are looking at closely. They will do the appropriate tests to determine exactly where the birdshot is located, in relation to the heart muscle itself. I would expect that this would also include diagnostic studies, such as a cardiac catheterization, which is a dye test to look at the...</s>NGUYEN: Which...</s>SIMONOFF: ... arteries.</s>NGUYEN: ... they did one today.</s>SIMONOFF: Indeed. And that would determine whether there is blockage within the coronary arteries and how best to -- how best to address that.</s>NGUYEN: All right, worst-case scenario, if it does get into the heart, into the system there, what could happen?</s>SIMONOFF: Well, there certainly can be bleeding complications related to blood or fluid accumulation around the heart. Again, this is all hypothetical.</s>NGUYEN: Correct.</s>SIMONOFF: And this would require that Mr. Whittington be watched closely. Among the studies that I'm certain have been done would include an echocardiogram, or ultrasound, to look at the heart muscle, and to make certain that there is no significant fluid accumulation around the heart.</s>NGUYEN: Let me ask you this very quickly -- quickly, because Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," in fact, brought up this question. With this B.B. in there, could there be a chance of blood poisoning in the system?</s>SIMONOFF: Well, that's a very good question. Mr. Whittington is being treated with antibiotics to cover for the potential of infection. Of course, it depends on what the contents are of the B.B., but blood poisoning is very rare and uncommon. In fact, in many instances, B.B. pellets or even bullets may be left in place without surgical removal, provided that there is no significant migration...</s>NGUYEN: Right.</s>SIMONOFF: ... that may threaten...</s>NGUYEN: The movement is key here...</s>SIMONOFF: ... a vital organ.</s>NGUYEN: All right. Well, Dr. Paul Simonoff, we appreciate your time this morning to help us understand exactly what's going on, and the possibilities of what could happen. Thank you.</s>SIMONOFF: My pleasure.</s>NGUYEN: Tony.</s>HARRIS: Well, politicians may want to think twice about picking up a shotgun and going after game. Then again, maybe not, since hunting and politics go way back. Here's our national correspondent, Bruce Morton.</s>BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Do politicians love to hunt? Well, some. Theodore Roosevelt went after big game, went exploring -- a genuine enthusiast. Dick Cheney loves to hunt. There has been story after story about his hunting trips, though none, fair is fair, quite as dramatic as this last one. Harry Truman? He would rather have played poker. Dwight Eisenhower organized a partridge hunt in North Africa during World War II and hunted as president. But, when he had his druthers, you would him on a golf course. John Kennedy, a biographer recalls that Lyndon Johnson bullied him into shooting a deer once on the LBJ ranch. But he didn't like it, and didn't fish much either, though, of course, he loved to sail. Johnson himself hunted deer and doves on his ranch, though he sometimes stocked game so heavily, you could argue there wasn't much sport in it. Richard Nixon? This man was so out of tune with nature, he went walking on a beach in a business suit. Stalking game in the wild? Forget it. Jimmy Carter grew up in rural Georgia, fished as a child, went hunting with his father when he was a kid who could only carry a B.B. gun. Ronald Reagan? No -- chopped brush and rode at his ranch, but cared so much about wildlife there, he had rattlesnakes trapped and carted away, not killed. George Herbert Walker Bush loved fishing -- grew up in Maine, after all -- hunted some. Bill Clinton went duck hunting in Arkansas, but, one friend recalled, like the people, the camaraderie, more than actually seeing how many ducks he could kill. This president likes to hunt quail with family and friends, especially on New Year's Day. John Kerry, the man he beat, spent time posing with guns, but voters probably saw more of him pursuing exotic sports, windsurfing and so on. So, some do and some don't. But if I were a quail or maybe even just a hunting companion, I know who I would steer clear of. The vice president is often in what's called a secure location. But that means secure for him. The last vice president to hit anyone, by the way, was Aaron Burr, who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. Harry Whittington was much luckier. Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.</s>NGUYEN: I would say so. Well, he won't shut his mouth in court, but wait until you hear what Saddam Hussein is doing now. All of the courtroom drama, that's straight ahead -- when LIVE FROM returns.