Hospitalized Muskie Suffers Heart Attack

Former Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie was in critical condition Monday after suffering a heart attack while recovering from surgery.

The surgery last week to clear a blocked artery in his leg was successful, but Muskie, 81, suffered a heart attack a few days later while still at Georgetown University Hospital, said his assistant, Carole Parmelee, of the law firm Chadbourne and Parke.

Muskie, a former governor and longtime senator from Maine, joined the law firm in 1981 after serving as secretary of state under President Carter.

In 1972, Muskie was an early favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination but lost to George McGovern.

He first gained national prominence in 1968, when Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey chose him as running mate. They lost to Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.