John Fetterman greets supporters as he declares victory on Nov. 9, 2022 in Pittsburgh.
Joe Lamberti | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Sen. John Fetterman was hospitalized Wednesday after feeling lightheaded, his staff said.
“Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke,” said Joe Calvello, the communications director for the Pennsylvania Democrat.
The senator, who had a stroke in May that compromised his speech processing capabilities for months, began to feel lightheaded after a lawmakers’ retreat and was taken by members of his staff to George Washington University Hospital, according to the Calvello.
Fetterman, 53, will remain there overnight as doctors run additional tests.
“He is in good spirits and talking with his staff and family,” Calvello said.
In October, amid a tight race for the Senate seat with Mehmet Oz, Fetterman said his stroke and recovery “changes everything” but that it would not affect his ability to serve in the Senate.
“I don’t think it’s going to have an impact,” said Fetterman, who resumed his duties as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor in May but did not begin appearing at public campaign events until mid-August. “I feel like I’m gonna get better and better — every day. And by January, I’m going [to] be, you know, much better.”
His primary care physician provided a medical update that month, stating that Fetterman had “no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”
The month after his stroke, Fetterman said that the stroke was not the first time he suffered symptoms of a heart condition. In 2017, his doctors diagnosed atrial fibrillation — an irregular heart rhythm — and a decreased heart pump but he did not follow up with doctors or take the recommended medication, he said.
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