Dick Cheney Literally Lived ‘Without a Pulse’: How His Heart Care Shaped Medicine, Security and Public Awareness

Overview

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who died November 3 at 84, lived with chronic heart disease for decades. His highly public cardiac history — from multiple heart attacks to an implanted defibrillator, an LVAD and a transplant — tracked advances in cardiac care and raised unexpected questions about technology and national security.

Early heart disease and family history

Cheney experienced his first heart attack in 1978, the year he won his first seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was already aware of a family predisposition to heart problems; his father's later surgery revealed prior, undiagnosed cardiac events. Earlier generations had less sophisticated diagnostic tools, and care has changed dramatically over the decades.

Escalating interventions and national-security concerns

Cheney suffered additional heart attacks in the 1980s and a fourth infarction in November 2000, shortly before he assumed the vice presidency. Because the vice president is one heartbeat away from the presidency, Cheney's cardiac health became a matter of national concern.

In 2001 Cheney received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Unlike a standard pacemaker, an ICD can detect life-threatening rhythms and deliver shocks to restore a normal heartbeat. By the mid-2000s, as wireless and remote capabilities were being added to many medical devices, Cheney's medical team took an unusual step: during a 2007 battery-replacement procedure they disabled the ICD's wireless functions. According to news reporting at the time, the precaution aimed to reduce—however theoretical—the risk that a malicious actor could interfere with the device.

Pop-culture echo: Showtime’s Homeland later dramatized a similar scenario in season two. Cheney told reporters he found the depiction credible based on his own experience evaluating device security, while the FDA noted it was not aware of patient injuries tied to these theoretical attacks.

LVAD, pulse questions and a transplant

After leaving office, Cheney's cardiac care continued. In the summer of 2010 he received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge to transplant. LVADs help the left ventricle pump blood and newer models often provide continuous flow rather than the heart’s natural pulsatile output. That continuous flow can make a palpable pulse difficult to detect, which led some headlines to ask whether Cheney "had a pulse." Experts said his device was likely contributing 30–60% of cardiac output, so a faint pulse could still be present.

Cheney later underwent a heart transplant in 2012. Media attention around his LVAD increased public interest and awareness of the device and its role in treating advanced heart failure.

Why this matters

Cheney’s medical journey illustrates both progress in cardiac treatment and how broader political and technological concerns — from national security to device cybersecurity — can shape medical decisions. Reporting on his condition prompted public discussion about LVADs, cardiac-device security, and the trade-offs inherent in cutting-edge care.

Note: This account synthesizes contemporary reporting and public statements about Cheney’s cardiac care to explain the medical facts and the public reactions they provoked.