Clinton recovering after bypass surgery

His heart disease was extensive, with blockages in some arteries "well over 90 percent," said Dr. Craig R. Smith, the surgeon who led the four-hour operation at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia on Monday.

"There was a substantial likelihood that he would have had a substantial heart attack," said Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of cardiology. Doctors called Clinton's operation successful and said his return to full health will take weeks.

The former president also had high blood pressure and may not have been adequately treated for high cholesterol. His doctors said he was put on a cholesterol-lowering drug a few days ago. Clinton was prescribed cholesterol medicine in 2001 as he was leaving office.

"These past few days have been quite an emotional roller-coaster for us," Clin|on's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said in a statement.