Fox star John Roberts reveals he’s got a pacemaker and is now ‘battery powered’ after battling heart issues
The former White House correspondent has spoken about his recent health woes, which he attributes to years of smoking.
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Fox News star John Roberts revealed he got a pacemakerCredit: AFP – Getty
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Fox News star John Roberts has been outspoken about his health battles in recent yearsCredit: Fox News
“For folks at home who didn’t know, this time last week I left our show and immediately went into the hospital. I had not been feeling well for a while,” Roberts said on Tuesday’s edition of America Reports.
“Turns out that the stents that I received after the Trump trip to Helsinki with Putin had blocked back up again. So, they reopened that, but at the same time, like former Vice President Mike Pence, the electrical circuitry in my heart was going bad. So, I’m now battery-powered. I’ve got a pacemaker.
“Still maybe 75 percent, but hope to be 100 percent soon. I’m battery-powered now, so just give me a little pink drum and I’ll be banging that around.”
Over the weekend, Roberts revealed that doctors identified and repaired a blocked stent and put a pacemaker in his heart.
“A huge shout out to the team at @InovaHealth Fairfax who identified and repaired a blocked stent, and put a pacemaker in a heart that had been ridden hard and put away wet one too many times,” The Fox News anchor tweeted on Saturday.
A pacemaker is an artificial device for stimulating the heart muscle and regulating its contractions.
On Tuesday, Roberts thanked his medical team at Inova Health, saying: “An amazing advance: Dr. Batchelor at @InovaHealth used a tiny ultrasound inside my coronary artery.
“It discovered the existing stent that had closed up hadn’t been fully expanded when it was first put in. Standard angiography wouldn’t pick that up. Advice to folks facing the same.”
HEALTH WOES
In 2018, doctors discovered Roberts had two blocked arteries in his heart, which they quickly repaired.
“Many thanks to Dr. Itshac Ben-Dor and Dr. Lowell Satler and the team at
@MedStarWHC for discovering – and repairing two blocked arteries in my heart. A top-notch team!” Roberts tweeted at the time.
In an interview with The Washingtonian, the news anchor said he’s made it a priority to eat well and live a healthy lifestyle.
“I have always been a sports enthusiast and like staying in relatively decent shape. I still enjoy things I did as a kid—cycling, tennis, golf (I like to walk), hiking, water- and snow-skiing.
“Staying healthy and fit is important to me on a number of levels. I like how I feel when my clothes don’t feel like I am bursting out of them. I also have a lot more energy,” Roberts said.
