WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton has been released from a hospital in the Washington area after being treated for the flu, an aide said today.

“He and his family are deeply grateful for the exceptional care” that he received, Angel Ureña, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, said in a statement on social media.

Clinton, 78, was admitted to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital on Monday afternoon after he developed a fever. The severity of his symptoms remained unclear.

Cases of the flu have risen in recent weeks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older people and those with heart disease are at increased risk of serious complications from the flu and are more likely to be hospitalized.

Clinton has a history of heart disease. He underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery in 2004 and in 2010 had two stents inserted into a coronary artery. He has since adopted a vegan diet, favoring heart-healthy vegetables over meat and dairy products.

Clinton was last admitted to a hospital in 2021, in California, for a urological infection that developed into sepsis, a life-threatening condition, but it was not considered acute. He has continued to update the public about his health since leaving office in 2001. After his open-heart surgery in 2004, he briefly spoke on national television.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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