Bush had a stroke ?

From Daily Kos
PASADENA January 25 - KPCC 89.3 FM has learned that the underlying cause of President Bush's January 13 fainting spell is a heart arrhythmia called sinus bradycardia. The heart rhythm malfunction is not life threatening. Reporter Dave Robb, who broke the story, told KPCC's All Things Considered Host John Rabe that people with bradycardia have a slow heart rate, and are prone to fainting when they gag or choke. While the White House has acknowledged that the president has a slow heart rate, it had not volunteered the information that Mr. Bush has bradycardia.

White House physician Dr. Richard Tubb told Robb through spokesman Ken Lisaius that 'the president has sinus bradycardia consistent with athletic conditioning. The president's resting heart rate is 38 to 49 beats per minute.'

'That's the very definition of bradycardia,' said Dr. Harold Karpman, a heart specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and a clinical professor at UCLA. Indeed, any heart rate slower than 60 beats per minutes is, by definition, bradycardia.

In general, a slow heart rate is a sign of a healthy heart, and many well-conditioned athletes have resting heart rates well below the normal 70-100 beats per minute. Mr. Bush, who works out for an hour every day and who regularly runs three miles in under 21 minutes, has the resting heart rate of a well-conditioned athlete, according to Dr. Tubb.

But one common problem associated with bradycardia is fainting, several heart specialists told Robb. Dr. Suneet Mittal, a heart specialist at New York Hospital, Cornell University Medical Center said fainting spells are 'the most serious concern' when someone has bradycardia. In addition, if the president's heart doesn't respond well to stress tests as he gets older, the specialists said he may need a pacemaker.

KPCC
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