Dick Cheney Feared Real Life 'Homeland' Scenario in 2007
In a "60 Minutes" interview, the former vice president calls the Showtime drama "credible" while revealing that his doctor previously removed the wireless functionality from his pacemaker.
Homeland is hitting close to home for former Vice President Dick Cheney.
The 72-year-old, in an interview with 60 Minutes, revealed that he once feared that terrorists might kill him by using a wireless device to control his pacemaker. In 2007, Cheney and his cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner, decided to turn off the device's wireless function.
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Years later, a similar plotline would be featured on the second season of Showtime's Homeland. In the episode titled "Broken Hearts," Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan) suffers a heart attack after a terrorist gains access to his pacemaker's serial number.
"I found it credible," Cheney said of the drama. "I know from the experience we had, and the necessity for adjusting my own device, that it was an accurate portrayal of what was possible."
Cheney and Reiner are currently promoting a book that they co-authored, Heart: An American Medical Odyssey. President George W. Bush's former right-hand man has long suffered from heart troubles, experiencing his first of five heart attacks at age 37. Last year, at age 71, he underwent a heart transplant.
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