Fox News anchor John Roberts reveals he has a pacemaker, opens up about health challenges

Fox News anchor John Roberts is opening up about his recent health challenges.

The former chief White House correspondent, 65, returned to the news program "America Reports" this week to reveal he now has a pacemaker after being recently hospitalized for the heart procedure.

"For folks at home who didn't know, this time last week I left our show and immediately went into the hospital," he said in a clip published online by Fox News Wednesday. "I had not been feeling well for a while."

Roberts added that a stent put in his heart in 2018 had "blocked back up again, so they reopened it."

"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," he said, touching his chest. "I've got a pacemaker."

Mayo Clinic describes a pacemaker as a small device used to help control one's heartbeat and keep the heart from beating too slowly. Also called a cardiac pacing device, a pacemaker is implanted in the chest through a surgical procedure.

Roberts also revealed that Pence, who received a pacemaker in April 2021, called him on Monday to "lend a measure of support." In 2016, upon being named the Republican vice presidential nominee, Pence disclosed he had an asymptotic left bundle branch block.

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"We had a lovely conversation about what it's like to be a pacemaker recipient and the way forward," Roberts said, adding that he's thankful for his family, friends and medical team at the Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, where Pence's pacemaker procedure also took place.

Roberts said he's feeling "75% (better), but hoping to be 100% soon."

Roberts also tweeted Wednesday it was "great to be back" on "America Reports" with co-anchor Sandra Smith. "So great to have you back," Smith replied on Twitter.

In an October 2020 interview with "The Washingtonian," Roberts opened up about the stents in his heart due to blocked arteries that the Fox News anchor attributes to years of smoking.

"Smoking earlier in my life is why I have three pieces of stainless steel in my heart," he said.

Roberts spoke to the publication on how he's prioritized his health and developed healthy eating habits. "I have always been a sports enthusiast and like staying in relatively decent shape …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."

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Contributing: Rashika Jaipuriar, Indianapolis Star

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fox News anchor John Roberts gets pacemaker: 'I'm now battery powered'