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Sen. John Fetterman spends the night in the hospital after feeling lightheaded

Sen. John Fetterman spends the night in the hospital after feeling lightheaded. Facebook; Twitter; Flipboard; Email

February 9, 2023

One night after attending the State of the Union address with other members of Congress, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., spent last night in the hospital. His office says Fetterman reported feeling lightheaded on Wednesday, and was kept overnight for observation.

The senator is in good spirits and has been talking with his staff and family, his office said.

Fetterman was at a Senate Democratic retreat when he started feeling unwell, his communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement to journalists. That retreat was reportedly held at the Library of Congress.

“He left and called his staff, who picked him up and drove him to the George Washington University Hospital,” Calvello said.

Fetterman’s health has been a running undercurrent to his rise to the Senate. He suffered a stroke last year, just before winning his primary race. That prompted the implantation of a pacemaker and defibrillator, and Fetterman said he had previously been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation — an irregular heart rhythm that can cause blood-flow issues.

“Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke,” Calvello said, but doctors wanted to run more tests and keep the senator in their care overnight.

News of Fetterman’s latest hospital stay comes days after he joined President Biden and other Democrats at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in Philadelphia.

Sen. John Fetterman hospitalized after feeling lightheaded, staff says

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was hospitalized Wednesday after he complained of feeling lightheaded, according to WPXI.

Fetterman, 53, who had a stroke last May, began to feel lightheaded after a lawmakers’ retreat and was taken by members of his staff to George Washington University Hospital, Calvello told reporters.

“Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke,” Joe Calvello, Fetterman’s communications director, said.

Fetterman defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz in a tight race for the US Senate seat, and said at the time that his recovery from the stroke would not affect his ability to serve in the Senate, The Associated Press reported.

Following the stroke, Fetterman resumed his duties as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, however, he did not begin appearing at public campaign events until mid-August.

Fetterman released a health report from his primary care physician in October that said the lieutenant governor was “recovering well from his stroke” and concluded that he “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office,” WPXI reported prior to the election.

“I feel like I’m gonna get better and better — every day. And by January, I’m going [to] be, you know, much better,” he said at a campaign stop prior to election day in November.

Channel 11′s Lauren Talotta will have live updates this morning from the Satellite Center, including reactions and any updates on Fetterman’s condition, through 7 a.m. on 11 Morning News. https://t.co/MVAiGWxdmt

Doctors diagnosed Fetterman with atrial fibrillation in 2017, but he did not follow up with doctors or take the recommended medication, he said.

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heart rhythm.

“I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” The Washington Post reported Fetterman said in May. Doctors were able to “quickly and completely remove the clot,” he added. “It’s a good reminder to listen to your body and be aware of the signs.”

John Fetterman hospitalized after “feeling lightheaded” during Senate retreat

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was hospitalized Wednesday after “feeling lightheaded” while on a Senate Democratic retreat in Washington D.C., his office announced.

Fetterman was driven by his staff to George Washington University Hospital, his office said in a statement late Wednesday night.

“Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke, but doctors are running more tests and John is remaining overnight for observation,” the statement read, adding that he was in “good spirits and talking with his staff and family.”

The 53-year-old Fetterman, then Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, suffered a stoke in May during his Senate campaign, and underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker.

In October, he released a letter from his doctor saying he had “no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”

Still, the topic of his health became a central issue during the campaign, as Fetterman’s Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, repeatedly questioned whether Fetterman was fit to serve in the Senate.

Fetterman acknowledged using a closed captioning device to read questions during interviews and in a late October debate with Oz, but repeatedly stressed he had been transparent about his health challenges and was improving each day.

His auditory processing challenges were evident during his face-off with Oz, as he stumbled with his words at times and struggled at times to answer questions.

Despite his health struggles, Fetterman still went on to defeat Oz, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, in November. His win over Oz helped Democrats grow their majority in the Senate from 50 to 51 seats.

He attended President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Fetterman hospitalized after feeling ‘lightheaded’

While initial tests did not show signs of a new stroke, doctors are continuing to run tests.

Sen. John Fetterman went to the hospital Wednesday evening after feeling “lightheaded,” his office said in a statement.

Fetterman (D-Pa.), who suffered a stroke last May, left the Senate Democratic retreat on Wednesday and called his staff, who drove him to The George Washington University Hospital in Washington. While initial tests did not show signs of a new stroke, doctors are continuing to run tests, and Fetterman was being kept overnight “for observation,” his office said.

“He is in good spirits and talking with his staff and family,” his office said. “We will provide more information when we have it.”

Fetterman, 53, had been recovering from the stroke he suffered in May — just days before the primary election — while campaigning for his Senate seat, winning the primary while still in the hospital and ultimately beating Republican candidate Mehmet Oz in the November election. The Pennsylvania Democrat’s cardiologist has said Fetterman suffers from both atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy.

His recovery became a major contention point during the campaign, especially after a televised debate with Oz in which Fetterman stumbled over words and struggled to string sentences together. Some Republicans questioned his ability to work as a senator, while supporters of Fetterman applauded his bravery.

Sen. John Fetterman Hospitalized After Feeling Lightheaded

Initial tests at George Washington University Hospital did not show evidence of a new stroke, Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement issued Wednesday night

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who had a stroke during his campaign last year, has been hospitalized after feeling lightheaded while attending a Democratic retreat, his office said.

Initial tests at George Washington University Hospital did not show evidence of a new stroke, Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement Wednesday night. The senator remained at the hospital for observation as doctors conducted more tests.

“He is in good spirits and talking with his staff and family. We will provide more information when we have it,” Calvello said.

In November, Fetterman, 53, won the seat held by now-retired Republican Pat Toomey after a hard-fought contest against GOP nominee Mehmet Oz. Fetterman, who was the lieutenant governor, defeated the celebrity heart surgeon by 5 percentage points, flipping a seat that was key to Democrats holding the Senate majority. More than $300 million was spent during the campaign, making it the most expensive Senate race in 2022.

His campaign was derailed on May 13 when he had what he later called a near-fatal stroke just days before the Democratic primary. He spent much of the rest of the campaign in recovery, refusing to release his medical records or allow his doctors to answer reporters’ questions.

Oz made an issue of whether his opponent was honest about the effects of the stroke and whether Fetterman was fit to serve, but the Democrat insisted his doctors said he could have a full recovery.

As a result of the stroke, Fetterman has struggled with auditory processing disorder, a common aftereffect that can can leave a person unable to speak fluidly and quickly process spoken conversation into meaning.

The effects of the stroke were apparent in Fetterman’s uneven performance during the fall campaign’s only debate when he struggled to complete sentences and jumbled words.

On election night, he told cheering supporters he ran for “anyone that ever got knocked down that got back up.”

Fetterman, a presence at 6-foot-8 with a clean-shaved head and a goatee and known for wearing hoodies and shorts, was lieutenant governor from 2019-2023. He served as mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, from 2006-2019.