WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- President Bush fainted briefly in the White House residence Sunday after choking on a pretzel while watching a National Football League playoff game on television, White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said.
Lisaius said Bush was alone in the room watching TV while his wife, first lady Laura Bush, was in a nearby room.
The president's doctor, Air Force Col. Richard Tubb, said Bush recovered quickly and is doing well.
"I do not find any reason that this would happen again," Tubb said. "He fainted due to a temporary decrease in heart rate brought on by swallowing a pretzel."
Lisaius said Bush suffered an abrasion on his left cheek the size of a half dollar and bruise on his lower lip, apparently from falling onto the floor from the couch.
He said Bush, 55, believes he was out for only a few seconds because when he awoke, his two dogs were sitting in the same position they were when he lost consciousness. The fainting incident occurred at approximately 5:35 p.m. EST and Bush contacted the nurse on duty at the White House about five minutes later.
"He said he felt it (the pretzel) go down the wrong way," said Lisaius.
Bush, under his own power, took an elevator from the second floor of the residence to the first floor doctor's office where he underwent a through examination that included use of a heart monitor, according to Lisaius.
The president's blood pressure and pulse were normal, he said. Bush is not taking any medication as a result of the incident, but his doctor is awaiting the results of sugar levels in the president's blood.
Bush, who has a lower-than-normal pulse rate, had complained over the weekend that "he had a little bug." Tubb said that low heart rate made him more prone to fainting when the pretzel stimulated a nerve when it got caught in his throat.
Bush plans to travel to the Midwest on Monday as planned, Lisaius said. The president, however, will be checked again in the morning.
Bush was watching the Baltimore Ravens-Miami Dolphins game when the incident occurred.
