By JAMES GERSTENZANG AND THOMAS H. MAUGH II
JAN. 14, 2002
12 AM
TIMES STAFF WRITERS
WASHINGTON —
President Bush briefly lost consciousness Sunday after he choked on a pretzel while watching a football game on television in his living quarters, the White House said.
After fainting, the president tumbled to the floor from a couch, bruising his lower lip and suffering an abrasion the size of a half dollar on his left cheek, White House physician Dr. Richard Tubb said.
Tubb, an Air Force colonel, said Bush recovered quickly.
“I do not find any reason that this would happen again,” Tubb told news agencies in an interview arranged by the White House. “He fainted due to a temporary decrease in heart rate brought on by swallowing a pretzel.”
