PHILADELPHIA — A cardiologist who examined Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman after his stroke said the Democratic Senate nominee has a type of cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. He said the pacemaker-defibrillator Fetterman received, along with diet, medication and exercise, should allow him to go on with his campaign.
“The prognosis I can give for John’s heart is this: If he takes his medications, eats healthy and exercises, he’ll be fine,” said Ramesh Chandra of Alliance Cardiology. “If he does what I’ve told him ... he should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem.”
The Allegheny County cardiologist also said Fetterman ignored his advice back in 2017, when Fetterman was experiencing swollen feet and went to see him. Chandra diagnosed him then with atrial fibrillation, or A-fib, a type of irregular heart rhythm, and prescribed medications along with improved diet and exercise. He asked Fetterman to follow up in a few months.
“Instead, I did not see him again until yesterday,” Chandra wrote in the letter. “John did not go to any doctor for 5 years and did not continue taking his medications.”
Fetterman, 52, in a statement accompanying the letter, said he “wasn’t proud,” of ignoring medical advice but wanted to be a cautionary tale for others.
“As my doctor said, I should have taken my health more seriously,” Fetterman said. “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 letter is the first information from someone who has examined Fetterman since his May 13 stroke. The campaign has refused to make Fetterman or the doctors who treated him at Lancaster General available for interviews. They declined a request to interview Chandra on Friday.
The letter and statement were released as some concern among Democrats had mounted over the situation, and as cardiologists not involved with Fetterman’s care questioned the explanation of his medical treatment provided by the campaign.
Fetterman’s campaign and his wife, Gisele, had said that the candidate suffered from A-fib, leading to his May 13 stroke. That type of heart rhythm can indeed cause a stroke. But when Fetterman got the combination pacemaker-defibrillator four days later, they said the device was implanted to treat the A-fib.
But that’s not what defibrillators are for, leading outside cardiologists to deduce that Fetterman had some additional heart condition that the campaign did not disclose.
In Chandra’s letter, he names that second condition: cardiomyopathy. Chandra also suggests he may have been the one to explain to Fetterman the connection between the condition and the use of a defibrillator.
“Yesterday, I talked to John about how, while Afib was the cause of his stroke, he also has a condition called cardiomyopathy, which is why doctors in Lancaster chose to implant the device,” Chandra said.
Chandra said the pacemaker-defibrillator was working well, based on his examination of it. The campaign said doctors in Lancaster echoed the same after a check-up this week.
In his statement, Fetterman said he regretted not taking prescribed blood thinners, which Chandra told him would have prevented the stroke. He did set out to lose 150 pounds in 2018 to reduce stress on his heart at the time, he said.
“I thought losing weight and exercising would be enough. Of course it wasn’t,” he said. “I didn’t do what the doctor told me. But I won’t make that mistake again.”
Fetterman said doctors have told him to continue to rest, eat healthy and exercise. He did not provide a timeline for his return to the campaign trail.
“It’s frustrating — all the more so because this is my own fault — but bear with me, I need a little more time. I’m not quite back to 100% yet, but I’m getting closer every day,” he said. “This race is so important for Pennsylvania and for the country. I’m going to be ready for it, and I can’t wait to get back on the trail.”
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