BRUSSELS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has been discharged from hospital, one week after he had a blood clot removed from his heart, said the alliance on Monday.

    "Today, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO secretary general, left hospital, as he recovers from a procedure to clear a blocked artery," said the alliance in a press release.

    De Hoop Scheffer was hospitalized on July 21 after he fainted. Doctors removed a blood clot from his heart and kept him in hospital for observation.

    NATO spokesman James Appathurai said on the following day that de Hoop Scheffer was doing well in hospital. He quoted a doctor as saying that the NATO chief would be "better than new" after the treatment.

    De Hoop Scheffer, whose terms ends on Friday, did not return to his office on Monday. The NATO press release said he is expected to return to NATO Headquarters before Friday.

    Former Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who has been chosen to replace de Hoop Scheffer, will take up office on Aug. 3.