Recent studies indicate that a major risk factor for Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman’s health problems is something he has no control over: his size.
Cardiologists have known for years that taller people — like the 6-foot-8 Fetterman, who is taller than all but a handful of adult men — are at greater risk for an irregular heart rhythm. heart condition called atrial fibrillation (A-Fib). This heart condition, in turn, increases a person’s risk for a stroke like the one Fetterman suffered on May 13.
Fetterman said he has ongoing language and communication problems and his health remains in check as he faces criticism from Republican challenger Mehmet Oz for not yet engaging in proposed debates.
Fetterman was born in 1969 to Karl and Susan Fetterman at Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Fetterman’s parents were both teenagers when John was born, and he described them as “very poor”. Eventually they settled in York, Pennsylvania, where John grew up and his father became a partner in a wealthy insurance company. Fetterman’s parents were both Republicans and he was raised in a conservative family.
Describing his past as “privileged,” Fetterman claimed he “walked in his sleep” as a teenager, played college football for four years, and expected to one day take over his father’s company. Fetterman earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Albright College, his father’s alma mater, in 1991 and an MBA from the University of Connecticut in 1993.
Fetterman’s best friend died in a car accident while at UConn, which had a significant impact on his life and career path. After losing his friend, Fetterman joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, where he befriended an eight-year-old boy from New Haven, Connecticut whose father died of AIDS and whose mother died of an illness.
Height and Weight of John Fetterman
Fetterman, who is 6ft 8in, has previously expressed his desire to lose weight. Before losing around 150 pounds in 2018, he weighed over 400 pounds.
