SITCOM star Drew Carey treated for blocked artery after experiencing chest pain

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Comedian Drew Carey, the portly star of ABC-TV's ``The Drew Carey Show,'' underwent a successful procedure Friday to unblock a coronary artery after experiencing chest pains

Saturday, August 11th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Comedian Drew Carey, the portly star of ABC-TV's ``The Drew Carey Show,'' underwent a successful procedure Friday to unblock a coronary artery after experiencing chest pains the day before, his publicist said.

Carey, 43, was admitted to an undisclosed hospital in the Los Angeles area where doctors also installed a stent to keep the artery open. The procedure was similar to the one Vice President Dick Cheney underwent in March.

Stents are tiny mesh tubes used to prop open arteries cleared through angioplasty, a surgical procedure in which a balloon catheter is snaked through the artery and inflated to clear a blockage.

``It was very successful and he's feeling fine,'' Carey's publicist, Christina Papadopoulos, said Friday night. ``He was joking and his usual jovial self.''

She said Carey's doctor expects that he'll be able to return to work next week.

The comedian is recognizable for his rotund figure, black-framed glasses and close-cropped hair. He has starred in ``The Drew Carey Show'' since 1995.