Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who returns to campaign on Thursday – after a three-day break due to illness – armed with a doctor’s certificate that she is fit to be the USA president even as new polls showed that the gap between Ms. Clinton and her Republican Party rival Donald Trump had narrowed.
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Additional health records released with the letter show that Ms Clinton’s cholesterol and blood pressure are within normal ranges.
The Republican nominee, meanwhile, handed over a one-page summary of a recent physical exam to the celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz while taping an episode of Oz’s talk show.
“We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure – uninterrupted – the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States”, the campaign said. She said she thought she “could power through It, ‘ but that “didn’t work out so well”. The main source of information about Trump’s health thus far has come from a widely mocked letter from his longtime physician declaring he would be the healthiest president in history.
While Clinton has released more information than Trump – both about her health and financial history – her campaign’s handling of her pneumonia underscored her penchant for privacy, something that has contributed to the public’s lack of trust in the former secretary of state.
The blood clot, which was in a vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear, led Clinton to spend a few days in New York-Presbyterian Hospital and take a month-long absence from the State Department for treatment.
That changed Sunday after Clinton left a 9/11 memorial ceremony early and video caught her almost collapsing and having to be helped into her van as she left.
Questions about transparency and the medical health of both Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump have dominated the political world for days, in part because Clinton was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday but withheld the information from the media and even some of her top aides.
The incident was preceded by Internet rumors fanned by conservative websites that she has broader health issues, a narrative the campaign wants to squash after Clinton spent much of August fundraising in private instead of holding public events. Clinton’s remarks Thursday will focus on lifting up children and families, as the campaign tries to break through with a more positive message.
She was diagnosed with mild, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia, her doctor said, a step the campaign took after the candidate had to take three days off the campaign trail after almost collapsing at an event on Sunday.
Ms Clinton received a 10-day course of antibiotics, and since Sunday has rested at her home in Chappaqua, New York, where she ‘continues to improve, ‘ Dr Bardack’s letter said.
Bardack said Clinton is up to date on all vaccines, two given to help prevent pneumonia – Prevnar and Pneumovax.
‘The remainder of her complete physical exam was normal and she is in excellent mental condition, ‘ the letter said. The 70-year-old has blood pressure of 116 over 70, and his total cholesterol is 169, his doctor says. 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. She has also had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound, according to the letter.
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The candidate now takes thyroid and allergy medicines as well as the blood thinner Coumadin, which was initially prescribed as a preventative measure after she suffered a blood clot following a concussion in 2012.
