Posted Monday, March 5, 4:10 p.m.

Vice President Dick Cheney paid a visit to GW this afternoon to seek medical treatment for a blood clot in his leg.

The No. 2 of the federal government, who is said to be a “heartbeat away from the presidency,” went to his physician at GW’s Medical Faculty Associates after experiencing “mild calf discomfort,” according to a statement from the White House. After leaving the outpatient facility on 22nd and I streets in the early afternoon, Cheney, 66, continued his day as planned.

“An ultrasound revealed a deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or ‘blood clot’ in his lower left leg,” the statement said. “His doctors will treat him with blood-thinning medication for several months. The vice president has returned to the White House to resume his schedule.”

DVT can occur in passengers traveling in confined spaces or with little movement for long periods of time. The vice president recently returned from an international trip last week from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Cheney, who has had four heart attacks since his late-30s and has a pacemaker, is a regular visitor at GW Hospital and the MFA for his cardiological ailments. The vice president went to the hospital in January 2006, when he suffered shortness of breath believed to be associated with medicine he took for a foot problem.

In 2006 Cheney and his wife Lynne donated $2.7 million to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences for the creation of a cardiovascular institute in their names.

Check back at www.gwhatchet.com for more details as the story develops.