CNN looked at old reports from physical exams of former presidents. These reports usually include basic information like height, weight, and blood pressure. But they also include details like how Obama\u2019s doctor removed a skin tag, how George H. W. Bush\u2019s doctor drained a cyst on his finger, and how Gerald Ford\u2019s doctor pushed for a swimming pool at the White House.<\/p>\n
Presidential candidates aren\u2019t required to share the results of their medical exam, but Jackson did so during a meeting on Tuesday and said on Friday that Trump was in \u201cexcellent health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is a look at how healthy past leaders were based on the exams they had.<\/p>\n
CNN looked at old reports from physical exams of former presidents. These reports usually include basic information like height, weight, and blood pressure. But they also include details like how Obama\u2019s doctor removed a skin tag, how George H. W. Bush\u2019s doctor drained a cyst on his finger, and how Gerald Ford\u2019s doctor pushed for a swimming pool at the White House.
\nPresidential candidates aren\u2019t required to share the results of their medical exam, but Jackson did so during a meeting on Tuesday and said on Friday that Trump was in \u201cexcellent health.\u201d Here is a look at how healthy past leaders were based on the exams they had.<\/p>\n
In January 1975, Ford\u2019s doctor told him, \u201chappy to report he is in excellent health. The results of all medical tests were normal in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n
In July 1976, Ford had another physical. During this visit, his doctor said, \u201cHe has had no complaints \u2026 other than mild discomfort in his knee following periods of prolonged standing. The President has maintained his physical capacity for long working hours. He sleeps very well and continues to follow his diet and weighs between 195 and 198 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford\u2019s doctor wrote in 1975 that \u201cthe completion of the new White House swimming pool will provide him with short intervals for relaxation that can easily be fitted into his busy schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to take the time to acknowledge those citizens who, by their contributions, make a swimming pool available for the President in the White House,\u201d Dr. William Lukash said at a press meeting in January 1976. \u201cI might add that the President was reluctant to use the pool during the winter months because of his concern about energy conservation. I spoke to him about this and felt it was to his advantage to have the use of this pool because I thought it would be an improvement in his sense of well-being and make him more conducive to his feeling better the next day. \u2026 The President swims approximately 24 lengths of the pool, which adds up to about a quarter of a mile, and he does this in about 14 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bush\u2019s press assistant said in a statement that a \u201csebaceous cyst on the third finger of his left hand was drained. The President is wearing a Band-Aid on the finger, which he can remove within the next few hours. This cyst has been present for many years and does not present a medical problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn excellent health,\u201d Reagan was told by the White House physician after being checked out by 14 experts in October 1981. Notably, he said that the president had \u201cfully recovered\u201d from the gunshot wounds he got in March 1981 during an attempt on his life.<\/p>\n
In May 1984, Reagan had another exam, and this time, his doctor said he was in \u201cvery exceptional physical condition.\u201d The doctors did find a small polyp in his colon, which they removed and found to be harmless. Similar polyps were found and removed during the president\u2019s checkups in 1985 and 1988. Other than that, Reagan\u2019s tests this year were found to be \u201centirely normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
While President Reagan was getting checked out in March 1985, the White House doctor said, \u201cPresident Reagan continues to enjoy good health. His overall physical and mental condition is excellent. I am especially impressed with the fact that his blood pressure is lower than a year ago \u2013 this is quite remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan\u2019s last recorded exam was in December 1988, while he was still in office. The president\u2019s doctor said that he was in \u201cremarkable physical condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
After getting checked out in 1989, Bush was found to be in \u201cextremely sound physical condition.\u201d The X-rays, EKG, urinalysis, blood test, allergy test, and dermatological check all came back normal. His hips did show signs of \u201cmild degenerative osteoarthritis, which has been present for several years.<\/p>\n
During a health exam in 1997, Clinton said he was having trouble hearing people when they were talking in large groups. The 42nd president was also given hearing aids after a test of his hearing. He also had a normal cyst taken out of the left side of his chest. The doctors said it looked like one that had been taken out of his nose the year before. He lost 20 pounds by eating better and working out more often, which Clinton said was partly due to his new lifestyle.<\/p>\n
After a physical exam in 2001, presidential doctor Dr. Connie Mariano said, \u201ca lesion on his back suspicious for skin cancer was excised. The pathology results \u2026 confirmed that the lesion was a superficial basal cell skin cancer. Pathologists noted that the margins of the legion appeared \u2018clean\u2019 indicating that the lesion had been totally removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the CNN special \u201cThe Last Heart Attack,\u201d which aired in 2011, Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked about ways to stop and maybe even reverse heart disease. Clinton told Gupta the truth about his own wake-up call, which was a quadruple bypass surgery in 2004. She also had surgery on her heart in 2010.<\/p>\n
The letter that summarizes the results of George W. Bush\u2019s health exam in 2001 names the 12 doctors who checked on the president. Two more doctors, including Dr. Richard J. Tubb, who has worked as a White House doctor for the longest time, oversaw and looked over his exam.<\/p>\n
Bush has \u201ca history of activity and sports-related injuries,\u201d the report says. In 1998 and 1999, benign polyps were removed from his colon, and he had \u201cmild high frequency hearing loss,\u201d but his speech frequency hearing was \u201cexcellent.\u201d<\/p>\n
What we also heard was that the president drank diet soda and coffee and smoked \u201can occasional cigar.\u201d That year, he also said he ran \u201cabout three miles four times a week on average\u201d and did cross-training like swimming, lifting weights, and using the elliptical.<\/p>\n
The report states: \u201cThe President is in the top 2% of men his age in cardiovascular fitness. This fitness level would place him in the Excellent category for men 40-44 and Superior range for men 45 and older. He is stratified to a very low coronary risk profile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obama had four recorded physicals while he was president: in 2016, 2014, 2011, and 2010. The president\u2019s doctor wrote a note for each check and sent it to the acting White House press secretary at the time of each report.<\/p>\n
Obama\u2019s letters describe the president\u2019s vital signs, which are all within a healthy range. They also give short descriptions of all of his major body systems and some parts, like the head, ears, nose, and throat. All of the lab tests were negative, including a PSA test for prostate cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends this test for African-American men starting at age 45 because they have a high chance for getting the disease.<\/p>\n
In all four of his reports, Obama mentioned the medicines he is currently taking. That same year, the president was told to take vitamin D every day, Nexium \u201cas needed for occasional acid reflux symptoms,\u201d nicotine gum (as needed for ongoing attempts to quit smoking), and Malarone \u201cas indicated during global travel to malaria endemic areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump shared a report that said he had \u201cexceptional\u201d mental health. This was a thinly hidden dig at Joe Biden on the 81st birthday of the vice president.<\/p>\n
The note, which was signed by Trump\u2019s personal doctor, is mostly positive and not very detailed. It says that Trump\u2019s general health is \u201cexcellent\u201d and that he did \u201cexceptionally\u201d on cognitive tests.<\/p>\n
It also says that Trump has \u201clost weight through a better diet and continued daily physical activity.\u201d This is said to be the reason why his \u201claboratory analysis\u201d came back better than previous tests. But there aren\u2019t any specific metrics mentioned.<\/p>\n
Trump told the Fulton County Jail in August that he was 6\u20193\u2033 tall and weighed 215 pounds. Some people on social media said those measurements were the same as Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson\u2019s, even though Jackson is shorter at 6\u20192\u2033.<\/p>\n
During a 2019 presidential checkup, Trump weighed 243 pounds. At that time, his doctor told him he was \u201cvery healthy\u201d generally, but he was technically overweight.<\/p>\n
People have been wondering about the 77-year-old\u2019s health for a long time. Trump used the issue as a campaign talking point when he said that Hilary Clinton, who was running for president as a Democrat at the time, didn\u2019t have the \u201cstamina\u201d to do her job.<\/p>\n
A string of medical mistakes and what look like efforts to trick the public have only stoked the fire.<\/p>\n
In 2015, Trump\u2019s doctor said he would be \u201cthe healthiest person ever elected to the presidency.\u201d The doctor later admitted that the patient had written the note.<\/p>\n
Some people didn\u2019t trust Trump\u2019s doctors in 2020 because they gave mixed or missing information about the president\u2019s coronavirus illness, which spread quickly.<\/p>\n
Also that same year, Trump made headlines for days by talking about how well he did on a test of dementia that he said was an intelligence test. He said the questions were about picking out an elephant and saying \u201cPerson. Woman. Man. Camera. TV\u201d over and over.<\/p>\n
How important is the difference in age between Biden and Trump? We asked voters over 60.
\nAs he tries to become the Republican nominee for president in 2024, Trump has frequently criticized Biden\u2019s mental health, calling him a senile puppet that his staff holds up.<\/p>\n
And polls show over and over that some people feel the same way.<\/p>\n
So, the fact that Trump\u2019s team released the positive medical report on his birthday makes it look like a political move, even though the report itself says that Trump\u2019s most recent \u201ccomprehensive examination\u201d took place on September 13.<\/p>\n
Biden\u2019s most recent physical, in February 2023, showed that he was in good health, but his falls and stumbling still make national news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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