Clinton reassures supporters

NEW YORK: Former US president Bill Clinton yesterday described surgery to open a blocked artery as "miraculous" and said he had been awake during the procedure.

"I didn't [take] any sedatives or anything, so I was alert. I wanted to watch it," he said.

Clinton, who underwent a quadruple bypass to free four blocked arteries in 2004, had been complaining of chest discomfort.

He said doctors found that "the rest of my heart was exactly as it was five years ago, all my - you know, the arteries and everything just as clear. So I actually am doing very well."

Clinton reassured supporters he would continue his work as a fundraising co-ordinator for earthquake-struck Haiti.