Bernie Sanders Health Update: Senator Recovering After Heart Attack

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) suffered a heart attack, his campaign said Friday as he left the hospital. Sanders, the oldest candidate in the presidential race at 78, was initially admitted to a Las Vegas hospital Tuesday night after experiencing chest pain at a campaign event.

Sanders tweeted Friday that he is looking forward to getting back to work.

Bernie Sanders Health Update

“I want to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at the Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center for the excellent care that they provide,” he tweeted. “After two and a half days in the hospital, I feel great, and after taking a short time off, I look forward to getting back to work.”

The doctors diagnosed Sanders with “a myocardial infarction,” a medical term for a heart attack.

“The Senator was stable upon arrival and taken immediately to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, at which time two stents were placed in a blocked coronary artery in a timely fashion,” said his doctors in a statement. “All other arteries were normal.”

Sanders had been preparing for Wednesday campaign events in Nevada, including a “Medicare for All” town hall in Las Vegas. His campaign announced that all events would be canceled until further notice.

Sanders tweeted Sunday evening that he is resting up and recovering well.

“I am glad be to be home in Burlington to rest for a little bit,” he tweeted. “I want to thank all of you for your well wishes, love, and support over the week. I am recovering well and feeling much better.”

He added, “I am more determined than ever to fight alongside you to make health care a human right.”

Before his hospitalization, Sanders said that he would release his medical records.

“The American people have a right to know whether the person they are going to be voting for for president is healthy,” he said.

In January 2016, Sanders’s campaign released a letter from his doctor stating that he was “in overall very good health.”

Sanders is still planning to take part in the next Democratic primary debate, on Oct. 15 in Ohio.