Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to undergo heart bypass surgery next week, after he was hospitalized on Friday. Clinton had been complaining about chest pain and shortness of breath, and was described as “tired” by those who attended a book signing a few days earlier.

“That’s the first time that ever happened to me, and we did this angiogram and found out I had blockage that was too significant to open and put a stent in. We had to do the whole surgery,” Clinton said, calling into Larry King.

Clinton, whose wife Hilary and daughter Chelsea are at his side at the New York hospital, is upbeat and anxious.

“I guess I’m a little scared, but not much. I’m looking forward to it. I want to see what it’s like to run five miles again.”

Saturday morning, Clinton, who is turning 58, was walking around the hospital in street clothes. Doctors said he did not suffer a heart attack, but angiogram showed “significant” blockage in his heart arteries, reports the AP.

Clinton’s diet could be to blame, as the former President enjoys McDonalds and Krispy Kream. He also said it could be genetics.

Clinton was supposed to campaign for Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry for two months prior to the November election, but that’s doubtful now.

“Republicans aren’t the only people who want four more years here,” he told King.






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