Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge is showing signs of improvement following a heart attack last week, and his family is "cautiously optimistic" that he will recover fully, his wife said in a statement Monday.
"Doctors are encouraged by his progress and so are we — even though we realize there's still a long road ahead," Michele Ridge said.
The former governor, 72, was transported to a Texas hospital Thursday after he contacted staff at the hotel where he was staying and asked for medical assistance. Mr. Ridge, also the first U.S. Homeland Security secretary, had been attending the Republican Governors Association conference at the JW Marriott in Austin.
Mr. Ridge's family said last week that he had suffered a heart attack and underwent an emergency procedure known as cardiac catheterization. On Monday, Mr. Ridge's spokesman, Steve Aaron, said in the same statement that doctors inserted a single stent into one of Mr. Ridge's arteries that had been blocked. "Since that time, Gov. Ridge has made steady progress as some of the assistive machines used to keep him stable have been successfully removed," the statement said.
Michele Ridge said the family has been "impressed" by the care her husband has received and, "We continue to be comforted by the enormous expression of positive energy, encouragement and prayers that have been coming from well wishers around the globe."
News of Mr. Ridge’s hospitalization spread quickly last week, prompting friends and former colleagues from both major political parties to wish him well.
Mr. Ridge, a Harvard University graduate and Vietnam War veteran, served in the U.S. House before he became governor and then secretary of U.S. Homeland Security. In recent years, Mr. Ridge has headed Ridge Global, a firm that advises on cyber security, international security and risk management.
First Published: November 20, 2017, 5:21 p.m.
