NEW YORK – Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (search) was reported "resting comfortably" at home Thursday after an angioplasty procedure, a hospital and a spokeswoman for his office said. Neither would provide further details.
"Dr. Henry Kissinger was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center on Tuesday, March 29, and underwent an angioplasty (search) procedure," hospital spokeswoman Myrna Manners said in a statement. "He was discharged earlier today and is resting comfortably at home."
The statement was confirmed by Jessie Incao, spokeswoman for Kissinger Associates (search), Inc., the foreign policy consulting firm that Kissinger founded after leaving government service in the mid-1970s.
Angioplasty is a procedure for relieving blockages that impede blood flow to the heart, usually by inserting a catheter and inflating a tiny balloon.
Kissinger, who turns 82 on May 29, served Presidents Nixon and Ford for eight years as foreign policy adviser and secretary of state.
In a Cold War career marked by accomplishment and controversy, he played a key role in restoring U.S.-China relations and bringing about arms control agreements with the former Soviet Union. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize with North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho for a diplomatic settlement ending the American role in Vietnam.
In recent years, the German-born Kissinger has continued to write extensively on foreign affairs and turned his consulting firm into a lucrative enterprise, advising scores of major corporations and other clients doing global business.
In 2002, Kissinger was named by President Bush to chair the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, created to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks, but soon resigned when Democrats in Congress criticized possible conflicts of interest involving Kissinger Associates.
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