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Alvarez rethinks mayoral race after surgery
By Times staff writer TAMPA -- Less than a week after announcing his candidacy for mayor of Tampa, former Chief Judge F. Dennis Alvarez is re-examining his decision following a health problem. Alvarez admitted himself to St. Joseph's Hospital on Monday morning after feeling his chest tighten. Doctors performed an angioplasty on Alvarez's heart, a procedure in which doctors thread a balloon through blood vessels and inflate it to break up a clogged area. Doctors also used mesh tubes, called stents, to unclog parts of the heart. By Tuesday, the 56-year-old Alvarez was at his Davis Islands home, resting. He said he felt fine and planned to return to work today at the law firm of Barr, Murman, Tonelli, Slother & Sleet. Even so, Alvarez said he will meet with his doctors soon to decide whether he's healthy enough to run for mayor. He compared himself to Vice President Dick Cheney, who has had four heart attacks. Alvarez underwent his first major heart bypass surgery at age 34 after running unopposed for the county bench for the first time. Five years later, he suffered another heart attack. Last year, he underwent knee replacement surgery and an operation to remove a throat polyp.
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From the Times Ernest Hooper |
