Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sanders Walks Away From Heart Attack With Important Message: 'I Want People To Pay Attention To Their Symptoms'
Reuters: Democratic Presidential Hopeful Sanders Says He Was 'Dumb' To Ignore Health Warnings
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday he had wrongly ignored warning signs about his health before suffering a heart attack last week, but that he did not think the scare would damage his campaign for president. Sanders, one of 19 Democrats competing to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election, suffered chest pains on Oct. 1 while in Nevada for a campaign stop and abruptly canceled campaign events. (Lewis, 10/8)
Los Angeles Times: Bernie Sanders To Slow Campaign Pace After Heart Attack
“I should have listened to those symptoms,” he said. “If there’s any message that I hope we can get out there, is that I want people to pay attention to their symptoms. When you’re hurting, when you’re fatigued, when you have pain in your chest, listen to it.” Sanders was speaking to a room of supporters in Las Vegas one evening last week when he stopped the event and asked for a chair. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors discovered he’d had a heart attack. They inserted two stents to clear a blocked coronary artery. He spent three days in the hospital. (Finnegan, 10/8)
The New York Times: Sanders Says He Will ‘Change The Nature’ Of His Campaign After Heart Attack
Senator Bernie Sanders, in a striking concession for a leading presidential candidate, said on Tuesday that he planned to slow down his pace on the campaign trail after suffering a heart attack a week ago, and acknowledged that voters would likely consider his health when deciding whether to support him. “I think we’re going to change the nature of the campaign a bit,” Mr. Sanders told reporters after a visit with a local cardiologist. “Make sure that I have the strength to do what I have to do.” (Ember and Martin, 10/8)
Politico Pro: Sanders Says He'll Release Medical Records At 'Appropriate Time' After Heart Attack
Sen. Bernie Sanders said the heart attack that has briefly sidelined him from the campaign trail did not mean he would be moving up the timeline to release his medical records, telling reporters they would come out “at the appropriate time.” (Oprysko, 10/8)
In other heart health news —
The New York Times: What Apes Can Teach Us About Our Heart Health
No chimpanzees or gorillas are in training for a fall marathon — a reflection, perhaps, of the ways in which the hearts of apes and men look and function as they do, according to a major new study of the health and evolution of cardiac muscles. The study, which involved scanning the hearts of untamed primates and a wide variety of men, indicates that hearts adapt in telling ways to the needs of their owners. The findings likewise suggest that not getting enough of the right kind of exercise could mean that our hearts start to look just a little bit less human, and could impact our long-term health. (Reynolds, 10/9)
NBC News: Owning A Dog Linked To Lower Risk Of Death After A Heart Attack, Study Finds
Dog owners live longer and fare better after a heart attack or stroke compared with those who have no canine companions, two studies published Tuesday suggest. Researchers found that dog ownership was associated with a 24-percent reduced risk of death from any cause among the general public, and a 33 percent lower risk of death among heart attack survivors who live alone, according to the reports, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. (Carroll, 10/8)
