Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Monday, April 15, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Hillary Clinton’s Doctor|Says She Is ‘Fit to Serve’

(CN) - Democrat Hillary Clinton is recovering well from a bout of pneumonia that knocked her from the campaign trail this week and is "fit to serve as President of the United States," according to a doctor who has seen the presidential candidate regularly over the past year.

The letter from Dr. Lisa Bardack was released by the Clinton campaign Wednesday afternoon. It talks of Clinton's bouts with sinusitis and ear infections on the campaign trail and offers a detailed account of the pneumonia diagnosis the candidate received last week.

Clinton's illness became front page news Sunday after she was seen seeming to swoon as she was getting into a van following a 9/11 memorial service in Manhattan.

Clinton later admitted she had ignored Bardack's recommendation to slow down and get some rest.

Bardack, chair of internal medicine at CareMount Medical in Mount Kisco, New York, says in the letter that she examined Clinton "upon her return home" and found that "she was re-hydrating and recovering nicely."

" I advised her to stay home and rest for the next several days. Mrs. Clinton has since been evaluated by me several times and continues to improve," the doctor says.

Since Sunday, conservative conspiracy theorists have floated a multitude of hypothesis about Clinton's health, but her Republican challenger has mostly stayed away from the subject, saying Monday only that he hoped "she feels better soon."

In the past, however, Trump has repeatedly questioned whether Clinton has the stamina to serve as commander in chief.

Bardack's letter says Clinton underwent a chest scan last Friday that revealed she had "mild, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia."

She was treated with a 10-day course of Levaquin, an antibiotic used to treat infections.

The letter says the illness stemmed from a bout of seasonal allergies that developed into an upper respiratory tract infection. Clinton's pneumonia symptoms began around the start of this month, and she saw Bardack on Sept. 2 for a low-grade fever, congestion and fatigue.

Clinton was advised to rest and was put on a short course of antibiotics, but her condition worsened and she developed a cough.

The letter also notes that in January, during the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, Clinton received treatment for a sinus and ear infection that included placing a drainage tube in her left ear. A CT scan of her brain and sinuses showed no abnormalities and mild chronic sinus inflammation.

Bardack said Clinton is up to date on all vaccines, including two given to help prevent pneumonia — Prevnar and Pneumovax. The letter did not state when she received those vaccines.

"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest," Bardack said, adding "She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."

The letter said Clinton has blood pressure of 100 over 70, that her total cholesterol was 189.

Her LDL or "bad" cholesterol was 103, and her HDL or "good" cholesterol was 56 — all within healthy levels and not signaling the need for any medications, Bardack said.

She has also had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound.

Bardack also noted that Clinton regularly takes thyroid and allergy medicines and the blood thinner Coumadin, prescribed as a preventative after she suffered a blood clot resulting from a 2012 concussion.

The Clinton campaign also released a letter from Tim Kaine's doctor, Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress, that said the vice presidential candidate is in "overall excellent health."

It said Kaine is active in his work and physical fitness. He has never smoked and his alcohol use is "modest."

An electrocardiogram of Kaine's heart was normal with the exception of "left arterial enlargement."

Trump has promised to release the details of a recent physical Thursday, when he appeared on a taped episode of the Dr. Oz medical TV show.

Trump's physical was performed by his longtime physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein.

A press release from the show said "Dr. Oz took Mr. Trump though a full review of his systems," including his nervous system, cardiovascular health, prostate health and family medical history.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Categories / Uncategorized

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...