Former President Bush, 90, hospitalized for shortness of breath

(Reuters) - Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, 90, was hospitalized in Houston, Texas, late on Tuesday after experiencing shortness of breath, a spokesman for the 41st commander-in-chief said in a statement.

Bush's latest health scare came two years after he was struck by illness during the 2012 holiday season. He spent seven weeks in a Houston hospital for bronchitis and related ailments before his discharge in mid-January of 2013.

On Tuesday evening, the former president "was taken by ambulance to the Houston Methodist Hospital as a precaution after experiencing a shortness of breath," according to his spokesman, Jim McGrath.

Bush "will be held for observation, again as a precaution," McGrath said in a statement.

President Barack Obama wished his predecessor well in a statement issued by White House spokesman Eric Schultz from Hawaii, where Obama was vacationing with his family.

"The president has been made aware that President Bush was admitted to the hospital," Schultz said. "President Obama and the first lady send their good wishes to the former president and the entire Bush family during this holiday season."  Read More