Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders underwent a heart procedure Tuesday night and has indefinitely canceled future campaign appearances, according to his campaign.
"During a campaign event yesterday evening, Sen. Sanders experienced some chest discomfort. Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in one artery, and two stents were successfully inserted," the Vermont senator's senior campaign adviser, Jeff Weaver, said Wednesday in a statement.
"Sen. Sanders is conversing and in good spirits. He will be resting up over the next few days," the statement said, but it went on to say that the campaign would cancel events and appearances "until further notice."
Further details were not immediately available. Before his hospitalization, the 78-year-old on Tuesday evening had visited a memorial for victims of the 2017 Las Vegas massacre and had at least 10 events scheduled in Las Vegas and California between Wednesday and Friday.
In addition to canceling in-person events, the campaign postponed a planned $1.3 million television ad buy in Iowa. The commercial, Sanders' first of the election cycle, portrayed him as a fighter for the working class. His campaign did not specify when it would put the ad on the airwaves.
Experts said it isn't unusual for someone Sanders' age to have arterial blockages. Blockages tend to be driven by risk factors such as age, cholesterol levels and stress, and require stents once arteries narrow by more than 70%, said Dr. Ron Waksman, director of cardiovascular research at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute and a professor at Georgetown University. Stents are tiny metal tubes that are inserted into arteries so blood can flow to the heart without obstruction.
Waksman said it is encouraging that only one artery appears to have required treatment. "The key takeaway from the statement is that he was stable at the time of the procedure," he said.
Cardiologist Helga Van Herle, who teaches at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, cautioned it was impossible to draw firm conclusions on Sanders' prognosis without more details on his condition. But she said of the stent insertion, "In general, people do very well after these procedures, especially if they're done early on."
The news about the independent senator, a top Democratic candidate with a devoted following, sent a jolt through the political world on Wednesday morning.
Any persistent questions about health and longevity could have ramifications not just for Sanders' campaign, but also all the Democratic front-runners and President Donald Trump.
All of the candidates in their 70s are "going to get more scrutiny if there's any physical or mental issues that arise," said Peter D. Hart, a longtime Democratic pollster and strategist who is neutral in the primary.
However, given recent history, they won't necessarily "be ignored or passed over by voters" merely for undergoing a medical procedure. "If you get multiple issues, or a very serious mental or physical problem, that will change the equation for the candidate," Hart said. "What voters are really looking for his how this person perform and are his or her mental faculties all together."
Sanders is the oldest candidate in the 2020 presidential primary and would be the oldest president ever elected were he to win, and his hospitalization is likely to raise questions about his ability to maintain an aggressive campaign schedule as he seeks the nation's highest office.
Sanders is a year older than former Vice President Joe Biden, but had not faced as many pointed questions about his age and health. Neither has Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who is 70; she usually runs onto the stage at her campaign rallies.
After the third presidential debate in September, during which Julian Castro, 45, made a thinly veiled attack on Biden's age by questioning his memory, all three of the septuagenarian Democratic candidates pledged to release their medical records.
Two weeks ago, Sanders told NBC News that he would "absolutely" release his medical records before the first primary votes.
"I think it's the right thing to do," Sanders said. "The American people have the right to know about whether the person they are going to be voting for for president is healthy, and we will certainly release our medical records before the primaries."
Trump is 73 and has faced questions about his own physical and mental health. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton, then 68, received intense scrutiny when she was seen needing the help of aides after she contracted pneumonia while campaigning, with Trump repeatedly questioning her physical fitness for office.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for Trump's reelection campaign, Tim Murtagh, tweeted, "All of us at @TeamTrump offer @BernieSanders our prayers and wish him a speedy recovery."
Sanders' rivals for the Democratic nomination also sent well-wishes.
"@DrBiden and I are sending our best wishes to @BernieSanders, Jane, and the whole Sanders family," Biden wrote in a tweet. "Anyone who knows Bernie understands what a force he is. We are confident that he will have a full and speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him on the trail soon."
"Bruce, Team Warren, and I are sending all our best wishes for a speedy recovery to @BernieSanders," Warren tweeted, referring to her husband. "I hope to see my friend back on the campaign trail very soon."
"All of us here at @PeteForAmerica are sending our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Senator @BernieSanders," tweeted South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, at 37 the youngest candidate in the race. "We're thinking of him and his family today, and I look forward to seeing him back on the campaign trail very soon."
Sanders also received an outpouring of good wishes from supporters online. "If it would help, I'd donate my heart to Bernie, just so he could keep speaking the truth," tweeted author Barbara Ehrenreich.
"There are numerous presidents who have had heart problems & health problems far worse than @SenSanders," tweeted RoseAnn DeMoro, former executive director of National Nurses United and of the California Nurses Association. "That's why we have VP's, etc. A stent isn't a death sentence. In fact, it can improve one's health."
In a blog post addressing Sanders' procedure, Sanders aide David Sirota wrote that stent insertions are a "routine procedure" and added that "we are encouraging media outlets that are reporting on stents to note that stents are a perfect example of why the United States needs to join the rest of the world and pass Bernie's Medicare for All legislation."
Heart problems posed an issue for Democratic candidate Bill Bradley in the 2000 presidential primary campaign. Bradley, who was then 56, had to pause his campaign after being hospitalized for atrial fibrillation _ an irregular heartbeat _ and experienced four more episodes over the following weeks.
But Bradley continued to campaign until repeated primary victories by then-Vice President Al Gore, the eventual nominee, forced Bradley to drop out. Bradley is still alive today.
In 1996, Republican candidate Bob Dole also faced questions about his fitness after the then-73-year-old fell off a 3 {-foot stage in Chico, Calif. But Dole continued to campaign, with his campaign defending his vigor.
"This should put to rest the age question once and for all," Dole's press secretary, Nelson Warfield, told reporters. "If Bob Dole can take a tumble like that and hop right back up on his feet and deliver a great speech, he's strong enough to be president and go a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson too." Dole lost the 1996 election to President Bill Clinton and remains alive today.
