Bernie Sanders is in ‘very good health,’ doctor says
Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Mason City, Iowa, on Wednesday. (Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
Bernie Sanders has released a letter from his doctor declaring that the 74-year-old Democratic presidential hopeful is in “very good health.”
Sanders was examined in November by Brian Monahan, the attending physician of the U.S. Congress who has served as the Vermont senator’s doctor for the last 26 years.
The exam showed the 6-foot, 179-pound Sanders had normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, a normal blood count and thyroid profile and no history of cardiovascular disease.
Sanders had previously been treated for “gout, mild hypercholesterolemia, diverticulitis, hypothyroidism, laryngitis secondary to esophageal reflux, lumbar strain and complete removal of superficial skin tumors.”
His past surgical history includes the removal of a cyst from his vocal cord and an elective hernia repair procedure, which he had done in late November.
Sanders takes Levothyroxine — a medication that treats hypothyroidism — daily, and Indomethacin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, intermittently, according to Monahan.
Brian Monahan’s letter. (Courtesy of Bernie Sanders’ campaign)
The senator doesn’t smoke, “[uses] alcohol infrequently” and is “up-to-date on recommended vaccinations.”
“You are in overall very good health and active in your professional work, and recreational lifestyle without limitation,” Monahan’s letter concludes.
Sanders, who at 75 would become the oldest person to be elected U.S. president, was asked last year if he had the stamina for the job.
“I don’t think I’ve taken a day off because of sickness in several years,” he told ABC’s “This Week” in June. “So I believe as somebody who has — when he was a kid, a long-distance runner — I’m blessed with endurance. I’m blessed with health.”
