- John Fetterman's cardiologist released a letter with more details about his stroke and recovery.
- Pennsylvania's Democratic nominee for US Senate had a stroke on May 13, just before the primary.
- Fetterman didn't see a doctor for 5 years and needed a pacemaker, but will recover, his doctor wrote.
A cardiologist for Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman said the stroke he suffered on May 13 was caused by heart disease. Fetterman hadn't been to a doctor in five years despite previously receiving a diagnosis for atrial fibrillation — or irregular heart rhythms — in 2017, according to the cardiologist.
In a letter released by the Fetterman campaign on Friday, his cardiologist, Dr. Ramesh Chandra, writes that the stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation. Following Fetterman's stroke, the candidate had gotten a pacemaker and Chandra also diagnosed him with cardiomyopathy, or chronic disease of the heart muscle.
"John is well compensated and stable," Chandra writes of Fetterman's current condition.
Fetterman, who won the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania's US Senate seat on May 17, suffered a stroke on May 13 and has been absent from the campaign trail ever since. The absence and illness have raised concerns among Pennsylvania Democrats about whether he'll be able to compete in the November election, NBC News reported.
Chandra's letter details the timeline of Fetterman's illness, and faults the candidate for not following up with his doctor's appointments or taking his medications after the 2017 diagnosis.
Chandra writes that he first saw Fetterman in 2017. "That is when I diagnosed him with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, along with a decreased heart pump," Chandra writes.
"I had prescribed medications along with improved diet and exercise and asked him to follow up again in the following months," Chandra continues. "Instead, I did not see him again until yesterday. John did not go to any doctor for 5 years and did not continue taking his medications."
Fetterman's doctor said that his patient was now "doing well."
"He now has a pacemaker-defibrillator," Chandra wrote. "the device is working perfectly."
Chandra added that, "If he takes his medications, eats healthy, and exercises, he'll be fine. If he does what I've told him, and I do believe that he is taking his recovery and his health very seriously this time, he should be able to campaign and serve in the US Senate without a problem."
The Fetterman campaign also released a statement from the candidate, to accompany Chandra's letter.
"As my doctor said, I should have taken my health more seriously," Fetterman said in a statement. "The stroke I suffered on May 13 didn't come out of nowhere. Like so many others, and so many men in particular, I avoided going to the doctor, even though I knew I didn't feel well. As a result, I almost died. I want to encourage others to not make the same mistake."
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released its first ad targeting Fetterman earlier the same day.
Featuring actors wearing mock-up campaign gear and banging a van filled with signs linking the candidate to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the GOP ad paints Fetterman as "too radical" for Pennsylvania.
On the campaign trail during the primary, Fetterman tended to avoid using buzzwords featured in the ad, such as the Green New Deal. Instead, he's preferred to use language such as "expanding health care access, whatever that looks like" rather than name-drop Medicare for All.
Read the full letter from Fetterman's cardiologist below: