Is this a LifeVest heart monitoring defibrillator device, or more tin-foil hat talk?

All the talk about Bush’s back bulge during the debates (speculation that he was wired for Rovian prompting) was brushed off by his minions as creases and folks in his jacket or just laughed off. Then there was the NASA photo analyst that confirmed it was a wire of some kind. Then Secret service said it was a bulletproof vest. Then a photo surfaced of him driving down in TX in a T-shirt in 2002 where “something” was clearly visible again.

This time it looks like a more interesting theory is being bounced around. Bush may have a condition called atrial fibrillation (AF), which is an occasional rapid heartbeat that can cause fainting, falling and small strokes called TIA (Indymedia.org):

TIA may explain the “pretzel fainting incident.”

George W. Bush apparently is wearing a medical device for “persons at risk of cardiac arrest.” It is a LifeVest wearable defibrillator. He started using it sometime after his January 2002 fainting spell, which was attributed to choking. Based on photos showing him wearing the device, one can conclude the fainting was due to atrial fibrillation (AF), which his father also had. His father’s AF was caused by Graves’ hyperthyroidism, which his mother also has. Bush likely has AF and less likely Graves’, based on his family history and symptoms. The AF may have caused a stroke or TIA (mini-stroke), of which physicians watching the debates detected symptoms. Observers have noted psychological symptoms consistent with this and with Wernicke-Korsakoff disease.

Bush recently underwent his annual WH physical. The result: “The President remains in superb physical condition,” said Adam M. Robinson, Jr., commander of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, after the president’s fourth annual physical at the center on December 11.” House Blend reader Jon pointed out:

What are the implications if 1) Bush has AF and 2) if he’s been hiding it? This is ironically parallel with the plot of “The West Wing” a few years ago. The fictional president hid from advisers and the public that he had MS. There was a congressional investigation and he was censured for covering up his illness.

AF is a manageable disease, but if Bush had admitted having it during the campaign, he would have lost. If it is revealed now, it will cause an uproar. It would also put pressure on Cheney to resign. I don’t think the public is ready to accept what is already a fact: Dennis Hastert is just two heart attacks away from becoming President.

It’s not concrete evidence, just more circumstantial tidbits. What is clear is that I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for any investigative journalist to prove just what is strapped to Bush.