Former Vice President Dick Cheney at CPAC 2011 (photo courtesy of Creative Commons).

An aide to the former vice president told the Associated Press and CBS News that Cheney, 71, had been waiting 20 months for the transplant after a long history of cardiovascular trouble and five heart attacks. 

“Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift,” aide Kara Ahern said in a statement. 

In 2010, Cheney had surgery to implant a heart pump called a left ventricular assist device. The AP reported that it’s primarily used for short periods to buy time for potential transplant candidates awaiting a donor organ.

According to the AP, his history of cardiovascular trouble includes a quadruple bypass surgery, two artery-clearing angioplasties and an operation to implant a device to monitor his heartbeat in 1988. He underwent a minor surgical procedure in 2007 to replace that device. He said in January 2011 that he had received a battery-powered heart pump. 

He has had five heart attacks since the age of 37. 

Cheney is recovering in the intensive care unit of Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va.

---------

Reach executive producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.