Blair Is ‘Absolutely Fine’ After Procedure

LONDON — Prime Minister Tony Blair underwent a successful operation Friday to correct an irregular heartbeat, and doctors expected him to make a fast and complete recovery.

“I’m absolutely fine, thanks. The hospital staff, the nurses, the doctors were brilliant,” said the 51-year-old Blair, grinning after he arrived back at his No. 10 Downing Street residence.

Blair’s heart condition -- supraventricular tachycardia -- is caused by rapid electrical activity in the upper parts of the heart and results in a sometimes irregular, rapid heartbeat.

Blair entered Hammersmith Hospital on Friday morning for the 2 1/2-hour procedure. After the patient is numbed by a local anesthetic, a catheter is inserted through the groin and up to the heart, where radio-frequency energy is used to kill cells responsible for the irregularity.

Aides said Blair would be back at his desk Monday and that he intended to go ahead with a planned trip to Africa on Tuesday.

“We consider the risk of recurrence of the problem to be very low,” a hospital statement said.

Blair’s heart condition became public a year ago when he was treated with an electric jolt to return his heart rhythm to normal. He returned to work a day later, defying doctors’ orders to rest.

British Heart Foundation spokeswoman Cathy Ross, a cardiac nurse, said, “There is no indication that abnormal heart rhythms are actually caused by stress and emotional pressure. However, for people susceptible to irregular heart rhythm, stress can act as a trigger.”

Describing his condition Thursday night, Blair said, “It’s a sort of fluttering. It doesn’t stop you working.”

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott stood in for Blair while he underwent the operation.

Prescott emphasized that Blair, who announced Thursday that he intends to serve five more years if his party wins national elections expected next year, is still up to the job.

“We have known about this condition for some period of time and he has been operating through probably one of his most difficult periods in politics....” Prescott said. “This is an extraordinary man who has got the energies to deal with it.”