U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home after a fall last week that his office attributed to a heart-related episode.
Fetterman, the state’s Pennsylvania lieutenant governor, announced on X on Saturday that he had received 20 stitches after the incident, which put him in the hospital.
The fall took place near the Democratic senator’s Braddock residence after a “ventricular fibrillation flare-up” caused him to feel light-headed, fall, and strike his face, according to his statement. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution
“If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now,” Fetterman said after the fall.
Fetterman, who had a defibrillator implanted in him, expressed thanks for the public’s support and the medical team that cared for him.
“I’m overwhelmed and profoundly grateful for all the well wishes,” Fetterman said. “Grateful for UPMC for the incredible medical care that put me back together.”
The exact details on Fetterman’s “flare-up” were not released, but medical literature notes it ventricular fibrillation is a serious problem.
“Ventricular fibrillation is a type of irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia). During ventricular fibrillation, the lower heart chambers contract in a very rapid and uncoordinated manner. As a result, the heart doesn’t pump blood to the rest of the body,” according to the Mayo Clinic, which said it is “the most frequent cause of sudden cardiac death.”
A doctor told Pittsburgh public media outlet WESA that the device likely delivered a shock during the incident.
Dr. Justin Lee, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, used an analogy to explain the device’s function to the media outlet: “Think of it like a sprinkler system attached to a fire alarm. It would detect a fire, and the sprinkler system would activate to put out the fire.”
Fetterman’s recent hospitalization is the latest health challenge he has faced.
While serving as lieutenant governor and campaigning for the Senate in the spring of 2022, he suffered a life-threatening stroke that required more than a week-long hospital stay and resulted in an auditory processing disorder. In 2023, after beginning his term, he spent six weeks undergoing treatment for clinical depression.
Advertisement
Meet Your Canna Coach: Personalized Guidance, Free for You!
Leave a Comment