PITTSBURGH – Senator John Fetterman is recovering after staffers say he fell and hit his face due to a ventricular fibrillation flare-up.
What we know:
A spokesperson for Fetterman said the health scare happened during a early morning walk near his home in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
Fetterman, 56, fell to the ground and hit his face after feeling light-headed, according to spokesperson.
It was later determined by doctors at a Pittsburgh hospital that Fetterman’s light Headedness was caused by a “ventricular fibrillation flare-up.”
He was treated for minor injures and opted to stay at the hospital so that doctors can “fine tune his medication regiment.”
What they’re saying:
Fetterman remained in good spirits about the medical scare, saying through a spokesperson “If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!”
He thanked the doctors and nurses who provided care during his hospital stay.
The backstory:
Fetterman suffered a stroke during his 2022 campaign for U.S. Senator in Pennsylvania, a medical emergency that lead to him needing a pacemaker to manage two heart conditions – atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy.
Fetterman was left with an auditory processing disorder, which can render someone unable to speak fluidly and quickly process spoken conversation into meaning. To manage it, Fetterman used devices in conversations, meetings and congressional hearings that transcribe spoken words in real time.
His campaign released a letter from a Pittsburgh-area physician who said it exhibited no effects on his “cognitive ability” or his ability to think and reason after the stroke.
In 2023, Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to seek treatment for clinical depression.
