Senator John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat whose 2022 campaign was almost derailed by a near-fatal stroke, was hospitalized on Thursday after a fall near his home outside of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Fetterman, 56, was taking an early morning walk in Braddock, the town where he once served as mayor, when he became lightheaded and fell, causing minor injuries to his face, his office said in a statement on social media. He was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh where he was found to have what the statement described as “a ventricular fibrillation flare-up.”
Mr. Fetterman’s office said he was “doing well” but staying at the hospital for observation as his medication was adjusted. The statement included a joke from the tattooed, 6-foot-8 senator: “If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!”
Mr. Fetterman, known for preferring hooded sweatshirts to suits, has been dogged by health troubles since his run for the Senate, where he has not been shy about splitting with his party. This week, he and seven other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus joined Republicans in backing a plan to reopen the government.
In May of 2022, Mr. Fetterman suffered a stroke because of a blood clot stemming from an atrial fibrillation, a condition in which the upper chambers of the heart beat out of sync with the lower chambers. The day of the Democratic primary, which he won resoundingly, he was in the hospital having a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted in his heart.
The stroke hampered his ability to speak clearly and kept him off the campaign trail for long stretches, but he still prevailed in the general election. Once he was seated, the Senate made extensive accommodations to help Mr. Fetterman in his recovery, and he was briefly hospitalized again within weeks of his swearing-in.
Soon after that, he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression, and said doctors there had saved his life after he checked out six weeks later. Since that stay, Mr. Fetterman has been an outspoken advocate for mental health treatment, and his newly published autobiography, “Unfettered,” details his struggles with depression.
But questions about his mental health have continued to linger. Former aides said last year they worried he was taking a turn for the worse, while Mr. Fetterman defended a poor attendance record in the Senate as a result of his a desire to spend more time at home with his family.
Last year, the senator was found to have been at fault in a car accident in Maryland, in which he rear-ended a car while driving well above the speed limit. Mr. Fetterman, who had a bruised shoulder, and his wife were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment — as was the driver of the other car.
Campbell Robertson reports for The Times on Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
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