WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney sustained a "mild heart attack" but is feeling better and likely to leave the hospital within a day or two, an aide said today.

Cheney, 69, who has remained a forceful advocate for the former Bush administration and a leading Republican figure since leaving office last year, has a history of heart trouble. He was admitted to George Washington University Hospital in Washington on Monday after experiencing chest pains.

Lab tests revealed evidence of a mild heart attack, Cheney aide Peter Long said in a statement. Long reported Cheney is "feeling good" after undergoing a stress test and a heart catheterization. The latter procedure examines blood flow to the heart and tests how well the heart is pumping.

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked. The statement from Cheney's office did not say whether he needed to have an angioplasty, a procedure to clear a blockage.

Former President George W. Bush spoke with Cheney by telephone this afternoon, a Bush aide said from Dallas.

The heart attack is Cheney's fifth since age 37.