Fetterman in Washington hospital but did not suffer another stroke, office says
By Jessica Dean, CNN
Sen. John Fetterman did not have another stroke, his office said Thursday evening, but the Pennsylvania Democrat remains in a Washington, DC, hospital after being admitted Wednesday after feeling lightheaded.
“The results of the MRI, along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran, rule out a new stroke,” the senator’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement.
“He is being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure – so far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored,” Calvello added.
Fetterman was elected to the Senate in November while recovering from a stroke he had suffered in May. According to his spokesperson on Wednesday, there had been no evidence of a new stroke, but he had been set to undergo more tests during his hospital stay.
“Towards the end of the Senate Democratic retreat today, Senator John Fetterman began feeling lightheaded. He left and called his staff, who picked him up and drove him to The George Washington University Hospital,” Calvello said in a Wednesday statement. “Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke, but doctors are running more tests and John is remaining overnight for observation.”
Last year, Fetterman checked himself into a hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, several days before the primary. Fetterman won the nomination while in the hospital and underwent a nearly three-hour surgery that same day to implant a defibrillator. He was released from the hospital after a nine-day stay.
Fetterman’s cardiologist later issued a statement, providing more insight into what caused his stroke and outlining that the Democrat suffers from both atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy.
Calvello said Wednesday night that Fetterman was “in good spirits and talking with his staff and family.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.