The Democratic Party primary candidate and Vermont state senator Bernie Sanders has said he plans to reduce his campaigning after suffering a heart attack in Las Vegas last week.
“I think we are going to change the nature of this campaign,” said the candidate at the door of his Burlington home after a visit to the cardiologist. “I will make sure that I have the strength to do what I have to do,” he said.
Sanders, 78, has said he should probably slow down three or four daily rallies, sometimes in several states. The politician has recognized that voters could take into account their age and health status when voting.
“Look, everything that happens every day weighs on how people perceive you,” added the senator, stressing that you have to look at the full image of a candidate, his values, his integrity and his history. “I’ve been fighting for working families all my adult life,” he said.
Sanders is the oldest Democratic candidate, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, and Massachusetts Senator Elisabeh Warren, 70. The politician has lamented that he has been “dumb” to have stuck to such a demanding schedule feeling “more tired than usual.”
Last week, Sanders was addressing his followers in Las Vegas when he interrupted the event to ask for a chair. He was taken to the hospital, where doctors determined he suffered a heart attack, and remained there for three days.
“If there is a message I want to convey, I want people to pay attention to their symptoms,” the candidate has encouraged. It is not clear when Sanders will return to campaign events, but he does plan to participate in the CNN debate on October 15 in Ohio.
