By Christen Smith
The Center Square

Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman remains under observation at a Pittsburgh-area hospital following a heart episode early Thursday.

The senator’s spokesman posted to his personal social media account, describing how Fetterman became light-headed, fell and injured his face while on a morning walk after suffering a “ventricular fibrillation flare-up.” He is under “routine observation” while doctors revamp his medication regimen.

“If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!” Fetterman said, per his spokesman.

It’s just the latest in a string of health challenges the former Braddock mayor and Pennsylvania lieutenant governor has endured after having a major stroke while on the campaign trail in 2022. The lingering effects impacted his audio and language processing skills, making the first few months on Capitol Hill stressful.

In February 2023, Fetterman checked into Walter Reed National Military Center for six weeks for a severe bout of clinical depression.

In the years since, the senator’s mental health has been the subject of several reports, including an Associated Press leak earlier this year that claims he had an “outburst” while meeting with representatives from Pennsylvania teachers.

The reporting says that “Fetterman began repeating himself, shouting and questioning why ‘everybody is mad at me,’ ‘why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do’ and slamming his hands on a desk,” during a meeting with Pennsylvania State Education Association President Aaron Chapin and teachers representing the union.

The source who was briefed on the matter also indicated that a staffer ended the meeting and “broke down crying” in the hallway.

It wasn’t the first sign of trouble from Fetterman’s staff. The week prior, New York magazine published a troubling article quoting a letter from his former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, who said he was worried about the senator and believed there were indications that he had swerved from his medical treatment plan.

Some say a high-speed crash he caused in Maryland last yesr was evidence of a larger pattern of reckless and erratic behavior, while many have questioned his fitness for office. Long before health issues surfaced, Fetterman was a divisive and iconoclastic figure, straining against political norms.

Fetterman responded to the piece in New York magazine by calling it a “hit piece” and said the meeting with teachers was “a spirited conversation about our collective frustration with the Trump administration’s cuts to our education system.”