Former Vice President Mike Pence underwent surgery on Wednesday to implant a pacemaker in his chest in suburban Washington, D.C., after experiencing a slow heart rate, his office said in a statement on Thursday.

“The routine surgery was successful, and he is expected to fully recover and return to normal activity in the coming days,” Mr. Pence’s office said.

Mr. Pence, 61, was found in 2016 to have an abnormality in the electrical impulses of his heart, known as a left bundle branch block. The condition reduces the heart’s pumping capacity and can sometimes result in a dangerously low heartbeat.

Symptoms can include “fainting, abnormal heart rhythms and other serious complications,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

Over the last two weeks, Mr. Pence, who has also served as a congressman and governor of Indiana, experienced symptoms associated with a slow heart rate. He was examined by physicians who scheduled the surgery at the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Falls Church, Va.

“I am grateful for the swift professionalism and care of the outstanding doctors, nurses and staff at Inova,” Mr. Pence said in the statement. “My family has been truly blessed by the work of these dedicated health care professionals.”

Mr. Pence has mostly kept out of the public eye since leaving office. Just two weeks earlier, he was rushed to safety when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building on Jan. 6 to disrupt the certification of the election results he was overseeing in his capacity as the Senate’s official presiding officer.

This month, Mr. Pence announced the creation of Advancing American Freedom, a new political advocacy organization established to promote conservative policies and oppose President Biden’s progressive agenda.

During the 2016 campaign, Mr. Pence’s personal doctor, Michael Busk of Indianapolis, said he had a history of seasonal allergies, heartburn and the bundle block, which he described as an “asymptomatic” heart condition that would not limit his capacity to do the job of vice president.

“The cardiologists feel you have a very good and strong heart,” he concluded in his letter to Mr. Pence.

Mr. Pence’s father, a smoker, died of a heart attack at 58.

Mr. Pence does not smoke, and physical examinations he underwent during his four years in office showed him to be in good health.

Source: Read Full Article