Clinton and Trump’s Health Records: Key Details You Need to Know
In the past 24 hours, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump shared their health records.
Hillary Clinton’s team provided a detailed letter from the presidential candidate’s doctor on her physical well-being and medications. And Donald Trump decided to open up about the results of his recent physical on The Dr. Oz Show, before releasing a letter from his personal doctor on Thursday morning.
Clinton’s letter, written by Lisa Bardack, MD, chair of internal medicine at CareMount Medical, paints a picture of a 68-year-old woman in good health, who has had some minor medical issues over the past few months.
On the Dr. Oz show, the doctor took Trump through what the show referred to in a press release as “a full review of systems including the following: nervous system; head and neck; hormone levels; cardiovascular health and related medications; respiratory health; gastrointestinal health; bladder or prostate health; dermatological health; history of cancer,” noting that family medical history was also covered. In his letter, Harold N. Bornstein, MD, Trump’s doctor since 1980, notes that Trump was hospitalized only once, as a child of 11, for an appendectomy.
Here’s what we learned about Clinton’s health:
She takes Coumadin, a blood thinner.
She has had several allergy flare-ups over the past year, “a typical pattern for most of her life,” Bardack writes.
She had an ear infection and sinusitis in January. Doctors treated it with antibiotics and steroids, and placed a myringotomy tube in her left ear to help alleviate her symptoms.
Her recent headline-making bout of pneumonia began as a low-grade fever, congestion, and fatigue that progressed. As a result, she’s taking Levaquin, an antibiotic.
She has a coronary calcium score (used to predict someone’s future risk of a heart attack) of zero.
She’s currently taking Armour Thyroid (a medication that helps with low thyroid hormone levels), Levaquin, Coumadin, and Clarinex (for allergies).
She’s up to date on immunizations, including Prevnar and Pneumovax, designed to prevent disease caused by strains of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
She visits a dentist regularly.
Her cholesterol level is normal.
Her mammogram and breast ultrasounds are normal.
These are her vital signs: blood pressure of 100/70, heart rate of 70, respiratory rate of 18, temperature of 97.8, and pulse oximetry of 99 percent.
Clinton’s prescriptions all seem normal for someone of her age, says Sherry Ross, MD, a women’s health expert at California’s Providence Saint John’s Health Center. Coumadin is typically used to prevent blood clots and can lower a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke, Ross says. Armour Thyroid is used to treat hypothyroidism and seems to be working for Clinton.
Clinton’s pneumonia isn’t shocking, given her issues with allergies, women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, MD, tells Yahoo. “It would appear that her seasonal allergies and upper respiratory infection worsened into a bacterial pneumonia,” she says. “Due to the stress and hectic schedule of a presidential candidate, this scenario is not out of the ordinary.”
Wider points out that Clinton was advised to rest by her physician after running a low-grade fever and showing signs of an upper respiratory infection, but was clearly unable to do so. “As a result, the infection worsened, congestion got worse, and it moved into her chest, resulting in a pneumonia,” Wider says.
As for the tube in her ear, Ross says it’s a more common treatment for children, but likely was used to help drain fluid that had accumulated in Clinton’s ear. “It’s probably temporary,” she says.
Clinton’s vitals are also excellent, with Ross noting that her pulse oximetry, a measure of how well the lungs exchange oxygen, is near perfect.
Here’s what we learned about Trump’s health:
He weighs 236 pounds and says he wants to lose 15. He admitted he’s overweight, and Oz said he’s “slightly overweight.”
He takes a statin for cholesterol and a low dose of aspirin.
He doesn’t work out, but he considers his speeches exercise.
He has been hospitalized only once in his life, when he was 11, to receive an appendectomy.
His father, Fred, had Alzheimer’s disease.
His parents lived into their late 80s and 90s.
His EKG and echocardiogram are normal, meaning there is no evidence that he’s had a heart attack.
He recently had a colonoscopy with no polyps.
He had a normal prostate exam, and his testosterone levels are normal.
He gets screened for cancer every year.
Morton Tavel, MD, a clinical professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and author of Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks: A Physician’s Advice, tells Yahoo Beauty that Trump’s health seems fairly good for someone his age, with one glaring exception: He’s nearly obese by BMI standards.
Trump is 6 foot 3 inches, and, at 236 pounds, that would make his BMI 29.5 — just shy of the “obese” category, which starts at a BMI of 30. He’s not alone: According to national government statistics, more than two-thirds of Americans are considered overweight or obese.
Here’s why that’s concerning, according to Tavel: At Trump’s current rate, he has a higher risk of high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.
Trump’s cholesterol medication is typically used for people who have a greater risk of developing heart disease, Tavel says, although he seems to have it under control.
Trump’s normal testosterone levels aren’t just bragging rights: S. Adam Ramin, MD, surgeon and medical director of Urology Cancer Specialists in Los Angeles, tells Yahoo Beauty that men with normal testosterone levels typically have better stamina throughout the day than those with low testosterone, which can make a man feel sluggish and depressed.
Ramin also says Trump’s risk of prostate cancer is low, and although his father developed Alzheimer’s, it was in his 80s, which lowers the candidate’s risk. Trump is smart to get regular colonoscopies, but the annual cancer screening is “generally overrated,” Tavel says.
As for the speeches-as-exercise claims, Albert Matheny, RD, co-owner of SoHo Strength Lab in New York and registered dietitian for Promix Nutrition, tells Yahoo Beauty, “You do sweat but still need to move your muscles and move them in full ranges of motion — standing and actively talking doesn’t do this.”
The final word? Both candidates are in good shape for their age.
“She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States,” wrote Bardack of Clinton.
“If a patient of mine had these records, I’d be really happy,” Oz said of Trump. Bornstein noted that “in summary, Mr. Trump is in excellent physical health.”
With reporting by Korin Miller.
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