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McCarthy Hospitalized For Blocked Arteries

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police Supt. Garry McCarthy checked himself into a hospital on Thursday for treatment of blocked arteries.

Police Department spokesman Adam Collins said McCarthy drove himself to the hospital Thursday morning. Collins would only say the superintendent "underwent a common procedure to address blockage in his arteries."

The Sun-Times reported McCarthy underwent an angioplasty procedure for a 100 percent blockage in one artery and 80 percent in another.

"He did the right actions, and he's going to be back to work soon," McCarthy's adult daughter, Kyla, told CBS 2's Mike Parker on her way out of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the superintendent was believed to be staying. "We want him to have rest and privacy."

Top Cop In Hospital For Blocked Arteries

"The procedure went well and he will remain in the hospital for several more days while he recuperates," Collins said in an email. "The Superintendent appreciates everyone's well wishes and is looking forward to being back on patrol with his fellow police officers very soon."

First Deputy Supt. Al Wysinger, who will be in charge of the department until McCarthy is back at work, said the superintendent was "in good spirits" after the procedure, and cracking jokes.

Dr. Gary Schaer, a cardiologist at Rush University Medical Center, who is not treating McCarthy, said there could be a number of reasons for McCarthy to stay in the hospital a few days after an angioplasty.

"If someone comes in with fairly stable symptoms of chest discomfort – that are not accelerating, not worsening – then they usually spend one night in the hospital after an angioplasty and stent," he said. "But if the patient is having accelerating symptoms – it's getting much worse, or there's been any damage to the heart muscle, like a small heart attack – we'll typically keep the patient an extra day or two."

It's the second hospital visit for McCarthy in the past seven months. In November, McCarthy went to the hospital for outpatient back surgery, and took a few days off to recover.

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