Day After Pacemaker Implant, Aspin Is Up, Walking the Halls

Defense Secretary Les Aspin was up, walking hospital halls and “in good spirits” Friday, a day after receiving a pacemaker to control a heart condition, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.

“He’s signing papers, seeing visitors, talking with staff on the phone,” spokeswoman Lynn Reddy said.

Aspin, 54, was expected to leave Georgetown University Medical Center sometime this weekend, although doctors had not determined exactly when, she said. Aspin’s doctors have said he could be back in his office on Monday.

While in the hospital, Aspin has received an intelligence update and met with his deputy, William J. Perry, and with Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. David Jeremiah.

The pacemaker was implanted just under the skin below Aspin’s collarbone during surgery Thursday. The device, normally used to regulate heart rhythms, is being used in Aspin’s case to control a condition in which the heart muscle becomes stiff and contracts too forcefully, restricting the flow of blood.

Should the pacemaker fail to help the condition, called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the next solution would be open-heart surgery in which doctors cut away part of the thickened heart muscle.

Aspin’s illness has come at a busy time for the Pentagon, when military forces are active in Somalia and Bosnia and the military is struggling to meet mandated budget cuts. And the White House has been slow to fill the top ranks of Pentagon policy-makers; only Aspin and his deputy, Perry, are currently in place.

Congressional officials said they do not expect details of the Pentagon budget before April 5, in part, because of Aspin’s hospitalization. There had been some talk that budget details would be available next week.

And Aspin is not expected to testify before Congress on the budget and other military matters until after lawmakers return from their Easter recess.