John Fetterman, the Democrat running out of Pennsylvania for a U.S. Senate seat, just revealed a previously undisclosed heart condition, Breitbart News reports.
Fetterman, in fact, further revealed that he almost died because of it.
Fetterman’s announcement
Fetterman made the disclosure on Friday. It turns out that he has atrial fibrillation.
The Mayo Clinic website reports:
Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) is an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots in the heart. A-fib increases the risk of stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related complications.
Fetterman said that he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation by his doctor in 2017. Fetterman backed this up with a letter from his cardiologist, Ramesh Chandra.
“I first saw John in 2017 at UPMC East,” Chandra writes in the letter. “He was experiencing swelling in his feet and came to get it checked out. That is when I diagnosed him with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, along with a decreased heart pump.”
“Almost died”
Besides the atrial fibrillation diagnosis, Fetterman revealed that he “almost died” from a stroke that he suffered last month. Fetterman said that he didn’t keep up with what his doctors recommended, which was confirmed by Chandra.
“I had prescribed medications along with improved diet and exercise and asked him to follow up again in the following months,” Chandra wrote. “I did not see him again until yesterday. John did not go to any doctor for five years and did not continue taking his medications.”
Fetterman said on Friday that he will not “make that mistake again.”
As for Fetterman’s prognosis, Chandra writes:
If he takes his medications, eats healthy, and exercises, he’ll be fine. If he does what I’ve told him, and I do believe that he is taking his recover and his health very seriously this time, he should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem.
Looking ahead
Fetterman is running as a Democrat out of Pennsylvania for a U.S. Senate seat. Despite the health problems that he suffered last month, he managed to win the Democratic primary for that race.
This November, Fetterman will go up against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, who won the Republican primary after David McCormick conceded on Friday.
