FUMO REMAINS HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING HEART ATTACK

     PHILADELPHIA, March 3, 2008 – State Senator Vince Fumo (D-Philadelphia) remains in the cardiac critical care unit of Hahneman Hospital in Philadelphia today after suffering a heart attack Sunday evening.

     Doctors and medical staff will continue monitoring his condition carefully.

     Fumo had several tests this morning. He has been awake and spoken with family members and friends, but is experiencing some discomfort. He will stay in the hospital for an indeterminate period.

     The 30-year veteran state senator felt intense chest pain and shortness of breath while having dinner at home on Sunday. He was taken by ambulance to Hahneman, where doctors determined he had total blockage of the right coronary artery. Dr. Daniel McCormick performed an emergency coronary angioplasty and inserted a metal stent to restore normal blood flow.

     Fumo, 64, had been at his Spring Garden home since February 22, after undergoing his second back surgery in five months on February 19 – a lumbar fusion to correct misaligned vertebrae, performed at Pennsylvania Hospital.

     On December 3, 1996, Fumo had undergone heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to repair a leaking mitral valve.

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