U.S. Senator Fetterman hospitalized but did not have a new stroke -spokesman

(Reuters) -U.S. Senator John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke last year, was taken to a hospital late on Wednesday after feeling lightheaded but tests show he did not have a new stroke, his office said in a statement on Thursday.

The 53-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat asked his staff to take him to a hospital in Washington after feeling lightheaded at a Senate Democratic retreat, his spokesman Joe Calvello said.

“The results of the MRI, along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran, rule out a new stroke,” Calvello said.

Fetterman remains at George Washington Hospital for observation, the spokesman said.

“He is being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure – so far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored,” Calvello said.

Fetterman had a stroke last year while campaigning for one of the key political swing state’s two U.S. Senate seats.

The stroke initially left lingering problems with his speech and hearing that sometimes cause verbal miscues, but Fetterman’s doctor has said the politician could serve in office with no restrictions as long as he followed recovery instructions.

Fetterman, in a statement on his recovery last year, said he had been diagnosed with a heart condition years earlier but had stopped taking his medication, avoided going to the doctor and ignored warning signs.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Eric Beech in Washington and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Sharon Singleton)