Freshman Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) remained in hospital and under care Thursday night as doctors ruled out another stroke but monitored him for signs of seizure, his spokesman said.
As Breitbart News reported, the Pennsylvania Democrat who suffered a near-fatal stroke before winning his seat last year, was hospitalized Wednesday night after feeling “lightheaded.”
His communications director, Joe Calvello, released a statement on Thursday evening confirming the senator had just received the results of an MRI scan, which together with the other hospital tests ruled out a new stroke.
Calvello said while there were no current signs of seizure, Fetterman was being monitored with an electroencephalogram (EEG) at the George Washington University Hospital.
No indication was given as to when Fetterman might leave hospital, but Calvello had flagged late Wednesday the senator was “in good spirits and talking with his staff and family.”
The medical event came after the 53-year-old appeared at the State of the Union address.
In November, Fetterman won the seat held by now-retired Republican Pat Toomey, defeating GOP nominee Mehmet Oz along the way.
Fetterman, who was the lieutenant governor, defeated the celebrity heart surgeon by five percentage points, flipping a seat that was key to Democrats holding the Senate majority.
More than $300 million was spent during the campaign, making it the most expensive Senate race in 2022.
Watch below as Fetterman delivered a word salad just days before the midterms: “You Don’t Think Your Vote Doesn’t Matter”
He is said to have endured a nearly three-hour surgery on the day he won the primary contest and spent a total of nine days in hospital.
According to a statement issued by his doctor, the stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heart rhythm.
As a result of the stroke, Fetterman has struggled with auditory processing disorder, a common aftereffect that can can leave a person unable to speak fluidly and quickly process spoken conversation into meaning.
U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) and his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, stand during the singing of the National Anthem before Josh Shapiro was sworn in as Governor of Pennsylvania at the State Capitol Building on January 17, 2023 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
He also suffers from cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body and can cause heart failure.
He was fitted with a pacemaker and defibrillator.