UPDATE #2, 10/4/19, 7:10pm ET: Doctors revealed to The New York Times that Bernie Sanders had a heart attack earlier this week. He was released from the hospital on Friday, Oct. 4.
UPDATE #1, 10/2/19, 11:45am ET: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ran against Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries, wished the senator well while on The View. “Let’s hope and wish for the best,” Clinton said. Her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, also on the episode to promote their new book, added, “If you have chest pains, please go to the doctor… although heart disease is more pervasive in women, it’s more fatal to men because men wait too long. So I’m just so grateful that Senator Sanders immediately went to the doctor.”
ORIGINAL: Senator Bernie Sanders‘ presidential campaign has announced that they are canceling all upcoming appearances and events until further notice after the Democratic candidate had to undergo a sudden procedure for an artery blockage. The 78-year-old senator’s advisor, Jeff Weaver, said in a statement on October 2 that Sanders “experienced some chest discomfort” during an October 1 event in Nevada, a memorial for the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. A medical test found that Sanders had a “blockage in one artery”; the senator was required to have two stents inserted into his heart to correct the issue.
Following the procedure at a Las Vegas, Nevada hospital, Sanders is taking it easy and focusing on his health. “Senator Sanders is conversing and in good spirits,” Weaver said in his statement. “He will be resting up over the next few days,” Weaver said. “We are canceling his events and appearances until further notice, and we will continue to provide appropriate updates.” It is unclear if the upcoming fourth Democratic debate, held in Ohio on October 15, is included in the list of canceled events. Sanders is currently polling third behind former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, 70, in the primary race.
Prior to his event in Las Vegas, Sanders spent time in New Hampshire earlier in the week where he held seven back-to-back campaign events. This isn’t the first medical emergency Sanders has experienced this year. The senator was spotted with a bandage on his head in March 2019, when he was campaigning in South Carolina. He had slipped and cut his head on the shower, and received six stitches at an urgent care; Sanders was given a “clean bill of health” by the walk-in-clinic.
This story is still developing. HollywoodLife will keep you updated as more information becomes available.