January 15, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 30, 1422

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WASHINGTON, Jan 14: US President George W. Bush fainted and fell off a couch on Sunday evening after choking on a pretzel while watching a televised football game, but a subsequent medical examination showed he was fine, his doctor said.

The president’s physician, Air Force Col. Richard Tubb, said Bush had complained in the last couple of days that he might be coming down with a cold. This condition combined with his having just eaten a pretzel that he did not swallow properly caused his heart rate to slow, and as a result he fainted.

Tubb said Bush, who was at the White House, ended up with an abrasion on his left cheek and a small bruise on his lower lip after hitting his head on the carpeted floor when he fell off the couch.

The incident occurred at 5.35pm EST (3.35am PST) as Bush watched a football game. His wife, Laura, was on the telephone in the next room.

When Bush woke up on the floor, he immediately alerted the nurse on duty downstairs at the White House, Air Force Maj. Cindy Wright.

She found Bush’s vital signs to be normal and called in Tubb, who gave Bush a series of tests including an electrocardiogram to check his heart. There was no evidence of a heart arrhythmia, heart blockage or heart muscle problems.

Bush’s heart, blood pressure and blood sugar were all normal, Tubb said. His blood pressure was 111 over 70. Normal is 120 over 80.

“I did not find anything to indicate it was serious whatsoever,” Tubb said.—Reuters