Bernie Sanders should be counting his blessings.
After experiencing chest discomfort at a campaign event in Las Vegas, the Democratic presidential candidate was rushed to the hospital and treated for an artery blockage.
The specific procedure that the Vermont senator had is called an angioplasty. It involves a flexible tube, known as a catheter, being inserted through the femoral artery around the anterior portion of the patient’s hip. The catheter, affixed with a balloon tip, travels to the point of the blockage. The balloon is then inflated, widening the narrowed spot and compressing calcified plaque that caused the blockage in the artery. A coronary stent is then placed in the previously narrowed spot to prevent the artery from collapsing.
As a result of a blockage in one artery, Sanders had two stents placed. And while the specific treatment the senator underwent has a recovery time of about a week, it still raises questions about his health and fitness as he pursues the Democratic nomination.
Sanders is far from the only one inspiring such concerns. At 78, he is the oldest politician running for president. For comparison, the other two frontrunners, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, aren’t too far behind at 76 and 70, respectively. Meanwhile, President Trump is 73 years old. For context, Ronald Reagan was reelected to his second term at age 73, leaving office four years later. That means Sanders would be older when elected than any president who has ever been in office at any time. Biden would be close.
If Sanders’ heart gives him further issues, he might need open-heart surgery that has a lengthy recovery time of not just a week or two, but several months. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that and Sanders bounces back without further trouble.
