The fifth heart attack that the former Vice President Richard B. Cheney recently managed to survive might just end up adding to the lore surrounding the seemingly robust man, but his ability to come out of repeated attacks unscratched seems more like a testimony to the miracle of modern medicine.

Most people still think that cardiovascular attacks are highly dramatic events, involving lots of chest-grabbing. But many attacks suffered and identified today, although potentially serious and fatal, end up causing little or no damage to the heart, and might just even go unnoticed.

"It may seem incredible for someone to go through that five times. But it's not how many heart attacks as much as what kind of heart attack that matters", said Clyde Yancy, a cardiologist at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and President of the American Heart Association.

On Wednesday, 69 year old Mr. Cheney was released from the hospital, two days after having suffered chest pain and a "mild" heart attack. The ex-VP seems to have benefitted from a steady improvement in the ability to diagnose cardiovascular attacks and treat them, which has sharply managed to reduce the death toll and improved the longevity and quality of life for those who survive.

"It shows you the striking advances we have made. But it also shows you that despite the best care, there are some patients who continue to have problems. We haven't cured heart disease", Dr. Yancy said.