HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor and a leading Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, is recovering from a stroke he said was caused by a heart condition called atrial fibrillation.
Fetterman said in a statement Sunday that doctors believe he is on the way to a “full recovery.”
A look at what happened, the diagnosis, the future of the Fetterman campaign, and what can cause atrial fibrillation.
WHAT HAPPENED?
It was Friday morning that the Fetterman campaign first canceled an event. Campaign communications director Joe Calvello told dozens of people waiting to see Fetterman at Millersville University that he hadn’t been feeling well that morning and had to cancel.
The campaign canceled further events on Friday and through the weekend, without saying anything about his condition or whereabouts. They revealed on Sunday afternoon that he had suffered a stroke and was hospitalized.
In a 16-second video released by the campaign with the statement, Fetterman and his wife, Gisele, are shown together, with Fetterman seated and speaking clearly.
“As you can see, we hit a bit of a bump in the election campaign,” he begins.
WILL THIS AFFECT YOUR CANDIDACY?
Fetterman, 52, maintains that his candidacy will continue, that he feels much better and is expected to make a full recovery.
However, it is unclear when he will be released from the hospital in Lancaster or if he will attend the main night event his campaign had scheduled in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Fetterman suffered the stroke in the hectic sprint of the final days of the primary campaign, when he had a packed schedule of trips and public events around the state.
While campaigns may slow down a bit in the weeks after a primary, the campaign did not say if this will affect Fetterman’s schedule or what kind of doctor visits or medications will be required in the future.
Fetterman said the campaign itself “isn’t slowing down one bit.”
Nothing else changes. Fetterman remains in the race and on the ticket along with the other three Democratic candidates.
WHICH IS THE DIAGNOSIS?
Fetterman said in the statement that he had a stroke caused by a clot from his heart that was in “an atrial fibrillation rhythm for too long.” Doctors quickly and completely removed the clot, reversing the stroke, Fetterman said.
Blood can collect inside a pocket of the heart, allowing clots to form. The clots can then break loose, get stuck, and cut off blood, often to the brain, which receives substantial blood flow.
Fetterman did not say by what method the doctors removed the clot. His campaign said his exact treatment regimen is still being worked out, but will include short-term rest and a healthier diet.
Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, a cardiologist and chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University, said clots can be removed with “anticoagulant” medications or, more commonly, by removing the clot “mechanically” by inserting a catheter through a large artery in the groin.
The longer a clot blocks an artery, the more brain cells can die, so recognizing stroke symptoms is vitally important, said Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.
People who develop atrial fibrillation are almost always given a blood-thinning medication for the rest of their lives to help prevent the stroke-causing blood clots that untreated atrial fibrillation can create, Dr. Lloyd-Jones said.
WHAT IS A-FIB?
Atrial fibrillation, or atrial fibrillation, occurs when the upper chambers of the heart, called the atria, lose synchronization with the pumping action of the lower chambers. It is a type of irregular heartbeat that is potentially serious but treatable.
In that abnormal rhythm, the upper chambers beat so fast that they can’t contract like they normally do. As a result, they don’t move blood effectively, so blood can pool in the upper chambers and form a clot, Lloyd-Jones said.
Sometimes patients feel a fluttering or racing heart, but many times they are not aware of an episode. Sometimes the heart picks up the rhythm on its own. Other patients receive an electric shock to restore rhythm.
Atrial fibrillation causes 130,000 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations per year in the US Between 2% and 3% of US adults in the Fetterman age range have had a stroke, and a sizable number of them are caused by atrial fibrillation, Lloyd-Jones said.
HOW DO DOCTORS CONTROL IT?
Atrial fibrillation is more common in older adults, and other risks include high blood pressure, sleep apnea, or a family history of arrhythmias. Obesity is also a significant risk factor, as is being taller, Lloyd-Jones said.
Fetterman is 6-foot-8, has been open about his drive to lose weight in the past. He weighed over 400 pounds before losing nearly 150 pounds in 2018.
Routine screening tests are not recommended for people without symptoms. Studies have not yet shown that early detection from screening tests would prevent enough strokes to outweigh the risks of unnecessary testing or overtreatment.
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Reference-apnews.com