Topline
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was escorted away during a press conference Wednesday after he froze mid-sentence and took an unusually long pause, causing experts to speculate whether the still-unexplained incident was caused by a common ailment like a migraine or dehydration, or something more serious like a stroke or seizure.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-KY) addresses reporters following a weekly Democratic … [+]
Key Facts
McConnell left the conference to go to his office for a few minutes, and returned back to the podium—an aide said the senator felt “lightheaded and stepped away for a moment,” and he told reporters he was “fine” when he returned to keep answering questions.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent and a neurosurgeon at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, speculated McConnell’s medical condition could potentially be related to common issues like dehydration or a side effect of his medication, but he also said more serious causes could include a petit mal seizure or a brief stroke known as a transient ischemic attack.
Jeffrey Saver, a neurologist at the U.C.L.A. School of Medicine, and Lee Schwamm, a neurologist and stroke expert at Yale, agreed with Gupta and told the New York Times the freeze was likely due to a transient ischemic attack or a partial stroke, though a migraine was “another less likely cause.”
A petit mal seizure—also called absence seizure—causes a brief period of “staring into space” and, like other seizures, is caused by unusual brain activity, the Epilepsy Foundation reports.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a transient ischemic attack is a mini stroke that only lasts for a few minutes and occurs when blood flow is temporarily cut from the brain.
Speculation as to why McConnell returned for questioning instead of immediately seeking medical attention arose, but Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said on Threads that if this type of incident has occurred several times before, “it may not necessarily need an ER or hospital visit.”
Faust also supported the seizure or stroke theory, stating there was an obvious “acute change in mental status.”
Key Background
The top Senate Republican has faced several other health issues. In March, 81-year-old McConnell fell at a D.C. hotel during a dinner event and suffered a concussion and broken ribs. Just days prior, McConnell fell while getting out of a car during a visit to Finland, sources told CNN. Earlier this month, McConnell fell on a jet bridge at the Reagan National Airport, though he sustained no injuries, ABC News reports. McConnell was diagnosed with poliomyelitis (polio) at age two in 1944—10 years before the first polio vaccine was available. After battling the disease for two years, he could finally walk “without a brace, without even a limp,” he wrote in his 2016 book. Polio typically affects children under the age of five and works by invading the nervous system, causing paralysis, the World Health Organization reports.
Surprising Fact
McConnell is the Republican party’s longest serving Senate party leader, holding that title for 16 years since 2007. He’s tied with Michael J. Mansfield (D-MT), who was the Democratic party leader from 1961 to 1977.
Further Reading
Mitch McConnell Abruptly Freezes And Leaves Press Conference—Aide Says He Felt ‘Lightheaded’ (Forbes)
McConnell Released From Hospital After Broken Rib And Concussion (Forbes)
McConnell had minor fall 2 weeks ago, uses wheelchair periodically to get around: Sources (ABC News)