Doctors reported that once out of the hospital the former vice president will recuperate at his mountain home in Wyoming where the thin air, rugged hiking, all beef dinners and rapid snow shoveling are sure to get him back on his feet.

Updated at 8:23 p.m. ET: Former Vice President Dick Cheney was recovering Saturday at a Virginia hospital after receiving a heart transplant, his office said.

Cheney was in the Intensive Care Unit of Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, his office said.

Cheney, 71, who served as vice president in the George W. Bush administration, has had a long history of heart trouble and has been on the cardiac transplant list for more than 20 months.

"Although the former Vice President and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift," aide Kara Ahern said in a written statement that was authenticated by several close associates of the former vice president.

http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/24/10847614-dick-cheney-recovering-at-hospital-after-heart-transplant