Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy Responding to Stroke Treatment at Johns Hopkins
The 53-year-old Democrat, who felt numbness at his son's hockey game, is continuing to improve while campaigning ahead of the midterm elections.
By Larissa Shah ·
Sen. Chris Murphy is continuing to improve after suffering a stroke, according to an update released by his office on Tuesday. A spokesperson told the Hartford Courant that the senator is heartened by the well wishes he has received. Murphy has also already cast his ballot in Connecticut, and he is urging voters to participate in what he calls a defining election.
The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon while Murphy was attending a hockey game for his son. Allison Herwitt, the senator’s chief of staff, stated in a Sunday announcement that Murphy experienced numbness in his arm. Following an evaluation at a local hospital, he was transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital for further monitoring. Herwitt reported that doctors were optimistic about a full recovery and that he is responding well to treatment.
Murphy is 53 years old. He is the fourth U.S. senator to suffer a stroke in recent years. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico had a stroke in 2022. In the same year, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania suffered a stroke that the Associated Press noted was attributed to a blood clot triggered by atrial fibrillation. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland also suffered a minor stroke in 2022.
Prior to his hospitalization, Murphy was actively campaigning in Connecticut and in nearly half a dozen other states with key Senate races. The CT Mirror reported that he was traveling between Washington, D.C., his home in Hartford, and overseas for congressional missions. He had recently returned from a trip to the Middle East where he said he was blocked from seeing a key American air base. He described the administration’s plan for potential military operations in Iran as insane.
Neurologists in the Hartford region noted that strokes among younger people are increasing. Dr. Priya Narwal, medical director of the stroke program at UConn Health, said that while stress is not a direct cause, it can contribute to risk factors such as high blood pressure. She explained that uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol are the most common risk factors. She also noted that other causes for younger patients can include blood clotting disorders or holes in the heart.
A large U.S. population study released last month in the American Academy of Neurology found that strokes among adults ages 20 to 54 nearly doubled over three decades. Short-term survival after stroke improved during that same period. The American Medical Association lists stroke as the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., with 795,000 cases annually. In Connecticut, the Department of Health recorded 8,914 stroke or transient ischemic attack cases in 2025 based on hospital data.
Dr. Rebecca Blumenreich, a neurologist at Yale School Medicine, said that symptoms vary depending on where the stroke hits in the brain. Symptoms can include balance loss, vision changes, facial drooping, arm weakness, and speech difficulties. If the stroke affects the language center, speech problems occur. If it affects the frontal lobe, movement issues arise. If it affects the sensory part, numbness and tingling may result. She emphasized that calling 911 immediately is the most important step.
Recovery timelines are difficult to predict until doctors observe a patient’s trajectory over the first days, weeks, and months. Dr. Rachel Forman, an associate professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine, noted that a transient ischemic attack, or warning stroke, often results in no lasting effects. However, she stressed that all strokes are serious and that having one increases the risk of another. Dr. Blumenreich agreed that each person’s recovery path is unique based on individual factors.
Murphy’s office has not announced a specific timeline for his return to the Senate floor. The senator remains at Johns Hopkins Hospital for monitoring. His chief of staff, Herwitt, confirmed that he is participating in the election process from his hospital bed. The update serves as the first public health status report since the incident on Saturday.
