MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Medium-sized West Virginia hospitals may perform emergency procedures to clear clogged heart arteries without onsite surgical backup, but Gov. Joe Manchin on Friday asked the state Health Care Authority to rework ambiguous wording on the proposed rule for elective angioplasties.

Spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said the rule Manchin rejected says hospitals could not do elective angioplasty if they are ‘‘within one-hour medical transport drive time’’ from another facility that has a heart surgery unit.

Hospitals want to know if that one-hour window means drive time only, or includes the time it takes to prepare a patient for transport.

‘‘They need to know specifically,’’ she said. ‘‘We don’t want any ambiguity, any confusion.’’

Sonia Chambers, chairwoman of the Health Care Authority, said the board has already begun looking at how to clarify the language and expects to address the issue at its next meeting July 30.