Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the leading contender in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, received a pacemaker Tuesday following last week’s stroke.
Campaign officials say the pacemaker will “protect his heart and address the underlying cause of his stroke.”
Mr. Fetterman has said his stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that’s potentially serious but treatable. The Fetterman campaign released a statement Thursday evening that the procedure was “successful.” The procedure began at 3:15 p.m., and Mr. Fetterman was released at 5:56 p.m. The campaign said he is resting at the hospital.
The stroke put him in the hospital in the campaign’s closing days. The 52-year-old says he’s expected to make a full recovery.
I just got out of a procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator in my heart. We got the all-clear that it was successful, and that I’m on track for a full recovery.
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) May 17, 2022
Thank yinz for the well-wishes - it means the world to me. ????
Now back to resting + recovering!
The Wolf administration announced that President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Jake Corman, will temporarily assume the duties of acting lieutenant governor.
“We continue to wish the lieutenant governor the very best as he continues to focus on his health and recovery. However, as the lieutenant governor undergoes a standard procedure, there is a process in place to ensure that our government remains fully operational,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “This is a short-term transfer of power, and we hope and expect the lieutenant governor to resume his duties very soon.”
Per Pennsylvania law, a declaration was sent from a majority of designated cabinet secretaries and the President Pro Tempore to the General Assembly stating that the lieutenant governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, a release said.
Mr. Fetterman may return to his powers and duties four days after a written declaration is sent by his office to the General Assembly noting that no disability exists, the release said.
The campaign has said doctors treated Mr. Fetterman’s stroke in time to prevent any cognitive damage, performing a procedure to remove a blood clot from his brain.
The fact that Mr. Fetterman is having a defibrillator implanted in his chest suggests that his heart problems go beyond atrial fibrillation, physicians not involved with his care told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
But a defibrillator is designed to treat sudden cardiac arrest, and the fact that he is getting that device in his chest along with a pacemaker suggests that his heart problems go beyond atrial fibrillation, physicians told the Inquirer.
”Atrial fibrillation in and of itself isn’t really a risk for cardiac arrest,” Michael Savage, professor of cardiology at Thomas Jefferson University, told the Inquirer. “A defibrillator takes us to whole other level of what is his underlying problem.”
Mr. Fetterman might have been diagnosed with a type of cardiomyopathy -- characterized by a weakened heart muscle -- which in turn could result in both a-fib and and increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest, Savage told the Inquirer.
First Published May 17, 2022, 11:10pm