Dick Cheney hospitalised briefly

US Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart problems, was treated at a hospital yesterday for shortness of breath believed to have been triggered by his reaction to medication for a foot ailment, his office said.

President George W. Bush told reporters Mr Cheney was OK and expected back at the office on Monday afternoon. He had gone to George Washington University Hospital at 3 a.m. (0800 GMT), spent more than four hours there, then went home for some rest.

"He's doing fine, I talked to him this morning. His health is good. He'll be coming in to work a little later on today," Mr Bush said. Mr Cheney, 64, has had four heart attacks. At the hospital, doctors administered an electrocardiogram, a test that monitors the electrical activity of the heart, and "found that it was unchanged," a statement from Mr Cheney's office said.

They determined that Mr Cheney was retaining fluid as a result of anti-inflammatory medication he has been taking for a foot problem. The statement said Mr Cheney was placed on a diuretic as treatment.

The vice president's office initially refused to explain what was wrong with Mr Cheney's left foot, first noticed when he had to walk with a cane last week, but a spokesman offered an explanation hours after Mr Cheney left the hospital.