Sen. John Fetterman was hospitalized after a fall near his home in Braddock, in an incident related to a heart issue that comes three years after he recovered from a stroke.
The hospitalization follows a busy week in which Fetterman (D., Pa.) cast a key vote to reopen the federal government and engaged in a publicity tour to promote his new memoir, Unfettered, which recounts his 2022 stroke and his battle with depression during his recovery.
Fetterman was on an early morning walk when he fell to the ground after feeling lightheaded, according to a statement from a spokesperson posted to his X account Thursday.
The statement described the cause as a “ventricular fibrillation flare-up,” and Fetterman, 56, was transported to a Pittsburgh hospital “out of an abundance of caution.”
He hit his face and sustained minor injuries, according to the spokesperson.
“If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!” the senator joked, according to the statement.
Fetterman remains at the hospital “so doctors can fine-tune his medication regimen.”
He is “receiving routine observation” and “doing well,” the staffer said.
According to the Mayo Clinic, ventricular fibrillation is a kind of irregular heart rhythm that leads to the heart failing to pump blood to the rest of the body.
The clinic describes it as “an emergency that requires immediate medical attention” and the most common cause of sudden cardiac death.
Fetterman had a stroke four days before the Senate primary in May 2022, caused by a blood clot that had blocked a major artery in his brain. He said at the time that he has A-fib, an irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, which likely contributed to the stroke. A 2014 study showed that people with atrial fibrillation are at a three times higher risk of also having ventricular fibrillation.
Fetterman had a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted in his chest following the stroke to treat atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy, according to a health report released by the campaign at the time. Implanted defibrillators can also assist in instances of ventricle fibrillation.
In June of 2022, the Fetterman campaign released a doctor’s letter in which Fetterman’s cardiologist publicly scolded the lieutenant governor for ignoring medical advice he’d gotten in 2017 to take medication to prevent a stroke, and for not seeing a doctor for five years.
Fetterman said at the time he “wasn’t proud” of ignoring medical advice but wanted to be a cautionary tale for others.
Fetterman’s recovery became a major part of his campaign against Mehmet Oz in the general election, which he recounts in his book Unfettered, released this week.
“I was given medication but never took it,” Fetterman said in the book. ”Like 65 percent of all men who ignore professional advice when it comes to their health. I figured I could beat it on my own with exercise and an improved diet, by losing 130 pounds and walking ten miles a day. But with the nonstop pace of a political campaign — when you’re grabbing cold cuts from buffet platters and eating Chinese takeout floating in what looks like motor oil, from sad, soggy boxes, at 10 p.m. — it isn’t so easy.”
The book also offers an inside look at how the campaign handled messaging about the stroke — waiting two days to put out a statement.
“A statement needed to be written to ward off the media — although they would continue to circle, the word cover-up poised on their lips,“ Fetterman said. ”We needed full disclosure, but we also did not want to make things sound too dire. I was not dying or even mentally incapacitated.”
He said in the book that while he was physically improving, the onslaught of attacks about his health had such a negative impact on his mental health that he should have dropped out of the race.
The book chronicles his subsequent struggles with depression, prompted in large part by the grueling campaign. And it traces how Fetterman almost lost his father, Karl, to the same heart issue when his dad collapsed in June 2023.
“Karl was diagnosed with A-fib just like I was, which indicated that the condition is genetic,” Fetterman said. “He had a pacemaker and defibrillator placed inside him, just as I had. We both had been clinically dead. The symmetry of our situations was eerie — a father and son with bum hearts that almost killed us.”
Fetterman’s health has been closely watched throughout his three years in the Senate. He was hospitalized for depression during his first year in the chamber, missing roughly two months before returning to Capitol Hill. And this year, former staffers raised concerns in a string of media reports about whether the senator was adhering to his recovery plan.
Fetterman has said that his health has been “weaponized” against him.
His staff said Thursday the senator is thankful for the health providers and emergency responders supporting him.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said in a statement that he and his wife Blayre “are glad to hear Senator Fetterman is receiving excellent care at a local hospital and hope he gets well soon. We send our love to Giselle, their children and the entire Fetterman family.”
Sen. Dave McCormick, his Republican colleague, said he reached out to Fetterman and his wife Dina spoke with Fetterman’s wife Gisele.
“John is a tough Pittsburgher and is already on the mend,” McCormick said in a statement. “We are thinking of him, Gisele, and their entire family — looking forward to seeing my good friend in the coming days.”
U.S. House members from both parties, including Philadelphia Democrat Brendan Boyle and Bucks County Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, also shared messages wishing Fetterman a quick recovery.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose long-standing tension with Fetterman is covered at length in the senator’s new memoir, also said he was praying for the senator.
“Lori and I are praying for Senator Fetterman’s full and speedy recovery and thinking of Gisele and their children,” Shapiro said in a statement to The Inquirer, which was then posted to X.
“It’s the most important thing in the world to have good health and be with your family, and I know all Pennsylvanians join me in sending well wishes to the Fettermans during this time.”
Staff writers Kayla Yup and Aubrey Whelan contributed to this article.
