Ex-President George H.W. Bush taken to hospital

n this July 10, 2013 file photo, former President George W. Bush walks off the stage after giving a speech before a U.S. citizen swearing in ceremony at the The George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. AP FILE PHOTO

HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush has been taken to a Houston hospital after experiencing a shortness of breath.

Spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement that Bush was taken by ambulance to Houston Methodist Hospital on Tuesday evening as a precaution.

McGrath said the 90-year-old Bush “will be held for observation, again as a precaution.”

Bush spent nearly two months in the same hospital and was discharged in January 2013 after treatment for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues.

Bush, who can no longer use his legs, most recently appeared seated in a wheelchair at an event in November at Texas A&M University with his son, former President George W. Bush.

In June, the elder Bush celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump near his summer home in Maine.