Credit: Fetterman campaign
UPDATED: 8:28 p.m., Tuesday:
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was released from surgery to install a pacemaker with a defibrillator early Tuesday evening, his campaign for U.S. Senate said.
Joe Calvello, Director of Communications for Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman released the following statement:
“John Fetterman just completed a successful procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator. The procedure began at 3:15pm, John was released at 5:56pm, and he has been given the all-clear that it was successful. He is resting at the hospital and recovering well. John continues to improve every day, and he is still on track for a full recovery.”
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Original Story:
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the frontrunner in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, will be getting a pacemaker with a defibrillator.
“John Fetterman is about to undergo a standard procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator. It should be a short procedure that will help protect his heart and address the underlying cause of his stroke, atrial fibrillation (A-fib), by regulating his heart rate and rhythm,” his campaign said in a primary election day afternoon statement.
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Fetterman, who lives in western Pennsylvania, had a stroke on Friday caused by a clot that stemmed from an irregular heart rhythm.
Fetterman has been off the campaign trail and at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital recovering since Friday.
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The National Library of Medicine provided the following explanation of a pacemaker with a defibrillator:
“A pacemaker helps control abnormal heart rhythms. It uses electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate. It can speed up a slow heart rhythm, control a fast heart rhythm, and coordinate the chambers of the heart. A [defibrillator] monitors heart rhythms. If it senses dangerous rhythms, it delivers shocks. This treatment is called defibrillation. A [defibrillator] can help control life-threatening arrhythmias, especially those that can cause sudden cardiac arrest.”
Fetterman is leading in the polls for the primary and facing off against Conor Lamb, Malcolm Kenyatta, and Alexandria Khalil.
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Prior to news of the pacemaker on Tuesday, Fetterman voted via an emergency absentee ballot from the hospital, while his wife voted in their hometown of Braddock.
Starting Friday, Fetterman had an abrupt absence from the U.S. Senate campaign trail and his campaign was largely silent on why. Some reporters were told he was ill, but the news of his stroke and the cause were not revealed until Sunday afternoon.
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“The doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage. I’m well on my way to a full recovery. So I have a lot to be thankful for,” Fetterman said on Sunday.
Fetterman’s campaign said on Sunday he was expected to be released soon, but then updated media guidance noting his wife will be taking his place at an election night event.
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The state’s second highest ranking executive credited his wife with insisting he should go to the hospital when he didn’t feel well.
Fetterman’s wife, Gisele, responded by stating: “Always listen to me.”
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