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Insurance Chief Has Heart Valve Repair Surgery

Posted on: Tuesday, 4 April 2006, 12:01 CDT

By Jim Sanders, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Apr. 4--State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi underwent surgery Monday to repair a heart valve that caused him discomfort over the weekend while he was working at his Calaveras County cattle ranch.

Byron Tucker, communications director for the commissioner, said Monday night after the surgery that it was a "100 percent success" and the doctors anticipate a "100 percent recovery."

Garamendi's candidacy in the June Democratic primary to replace termed-out Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante is not expected to be affected.

Before undergoing surgery, the 61-year-old commissioner was conscious and alert, and was saying he looked forward to watching the UCLA-Florida college basketball championship game Monday night, Tucker said.

Surgeons operated on Garamendi's mitral valve, which Tucker said "essentially operates as kind of a gate between the upper chamber and the lower chamber of the heart."

Garamendi experienced discomfort Saturday evening after spending the day herding cattle and repairing fences at his family ranch in the Gold Rush town of Mokelumne Hill, Tucker said.

Family members persuaded Garamendi to seek medical advice "just to be safe," Tucker said.

Garamendi's family drove him to the hospital Sunday morning, and he walked into the facility without assistance, Tucker said, declining to identify the medical facility.

Tucker said the mitral valve problem is a "fairly common ailment and the procedure to correct it, thankfully, is also common."

Garamendi has had no previous heart problems, Tucker said.

No estimate was given Monday for Garamendi's return to the Department of Insurance. Recuperation time can vary from person to person.

"I'd say weeks," Tucker said. "He might be away from the office, but not away from the job."

Chief Deputy Commissioner Rick Baum will oversee the agency in the interim.

Garamendi is running for lieutenant governor in the Democratic primary against state Sens. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough and Liz Figueroa of Sunol.

Spokeswoman Sarah Leonard said Garamendi is expected to return to the campaign trail soon in preparation for the June 6 balloting.

Garamendi was elected state insurance commissioner in November 2002, returning to a post he held in the early 1990s.

He initially served a four-year term as insurance commissioner in 1991, leaving after he ran for governor in a 1994 Democratic primary won by then-state Treasurer Kathleen Brown.

Garamendi's public service also includes 16 years as an assemblyman and state senator, from 1974-90; and three years as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, from 1995-98.

Garamendi's resume includes a stint in private industry as a partner with Yucaipa Cos., a Los Angeles-based private investment firm.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

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Source: The Sacramento Bee

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