Washington ? Former Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains Monday, an aide said.

Cheney assistant Peter Long issued a statement that the 69-year-old Cheney was resting comfortably at George Washington University Hospital and his doctors were evaluating the situation.

Cheney has a history of heart problems, including four heart attacks starting at age 37.

When doctors rule out an immediate heart attack, the next step in evaluating chest pain usually is an X-ray exam called an angiogram to help uncover the cause. Doctors inject a dye that will highlight narrowed arteries leading to the heart.

Blockages aren’t the only explanation for chest pain. But Cheney had bypass surgery in 1988, as well as two later angioplasties to clear narrowed coronary arteries.