Former US president Ford admitted to hospital

Former US president Gerald Ford has checked into the Mayo Clinic for a few days as he undergoes unspecified "testing and evaluation…

Former US president Gerald Ford has checked into the Mayo Clinic for a few days as he undergoes unspecified "testing and evaluation."

Ford's office released a statement saying the 93-year-old was admitted yesterday, but disclosed little else about the reason for his hospital stay.

The clinic in Rochester, about 75 miles southeast of Minneapolis, offered no additional details.

"No further releases or updates are anticipated prior to early next week," according to the statement issued from Mr Ford's office in Beaver Creek, Colo. Mr Ford also has a home in Rancho Mirage, California.

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Mayo Clinic spokesman John Murphy said he had no further information. A message seeking comment from Ford's chief of staff, Penny Circle, was not returned.

The former president spent a few days in Colorado's Vail Valley Medical Center last month because of shortness of breath. In January, he was hospitalized for 12 days in Rancho Mirage for treatment of pneumonia.

Five years ago, he suffered two small strokes and spent about a week in a hospital.

Mr Ford was House minority leader when President Nixon chose him to replace the resigned Spiro Agnew as vice president in 1973.

He became president on August 9th, 1974, when Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal.