Is Mitch McConell having 'absence seizures'? Doc claims March fall may be responsible
COVINGTON, KENTUCKY: Veteran Senator Mitch McConnell, 81, has been prone to episodes of sudden loss of awareness during recent public appearances. The incidents have raised questions about his health and potential underlying neurological issues, with experts suggesting he could be having 'absence seizures'.
Despite his team's assertion that the politician was just "lightheaded," medical specialists are establishing associations between these incidents and a notable fall he encountered in March.
Could Senator Mitch McConnell's recent health episodes be linked to his March fall?
Dr Keith Vossel, a neurologist from the University of California, Los Angeles, explained that absence seizures differ from the more usual convulsive seizures.
Instead, they involve a sudden loss of awareness of one's surroundings and a lack of responsiveness, caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. This electrical imbalance disrupts chemical processes between nerve cells, leading to these unusual episodes.
McConnell's fall in March, which resulted in broken ribs and a concussion, is of particular concern in this regard. Dr Vossel postulated that this fall could have caused a subdural hematoma, an accumulation of blood between the layers of tissue surrounding the brain.
He said, "That's more common in older adults and down the road that can actually lead to increased risk of seizures because the blood clots that surround the brain can irritate the cortical structures and lead to excess brain activity," reported Daily Mail.
While Dr Vossel emphasized that he isn't McConnell's treating physician, his expertise in brain disorders affecting seniors sheds light on these puzzling episodes.
Analyzing a video of McConnell's recent incident, Dr Vossel observed telltale signs such as eye fluttering and drifting, suggestive of a seizure occurring in the left side of the brain.
"If somebody's right-handed, their left side of the brain is more important for language, so it did strike me that his eyes start drifting to the right as he’s freezing. And then he's smacking his lips a little bit and his eyes fluttered a little bit. So, to me, this looks like an absence seizure," he noted.
This type of seizure, known as an absence seizure or petit mal seizure, is less noticeable than the more typical motor seizures.
What is an absence seizure?
Absence seizures primarily impact a person's awareness of their surroundings, causing momentary disconnection from external stimuli. Age is a significant risk factor for such seizures, while concussions are less directly linked.
McConnell's concussion, sustained earlier in the year, has led to speculation about its potential connections to the subsequent incidents.
However, Dr Vossel expressed skepticism about this linkage, as a stroke resulting from the concussion would likely have left noticeable residual effects.
The initial episode that caught attention occurred during a press conference on Capitol Hill, where McConnell froze mid-sentence for about half a minute. He returned later, asserting he was "fine" but public speculation persisted.
Dr Vossel said, "On the first episode, I was worried that he might be having an absence or petit mal seizure because with those types of spells, they are short lived. And when people are experiencing them, they may not realize that they're having the seizure, and when they come out of it, they might not realize that anything had happened."
"Unlike during the first episode in which Mr McConnell said nothing, in the second incident on Wednesday, he elicited a faint ‘yes’ when an aide asked closer to the senator if he had heard the reporter’s question regarding his 2026 re-election bid, though he seemed unable to answer further," he pointed out.
Vossel added, "These types of spells can affect one’s receptive language abilities, not just expressive language abilities. And so it wouldn't be surprising if, like a petit mal seizure could have been happening when he was not able to comprehend as well as others in the room."