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Levaquin Media Report 2 9/15/16

    National Coverage

  1. The Surprises In Hillary Clinton's Newly Released Medical Records

    Sep 14, 2016 | Forbes

    By Judy Stone

    Records released by Hillary Clinton’s long-time physician, Lisa Bardack, reveal several important things. Most importantly, she appears to be a normal, generally healthy woman who happened to get an infection.
  2. Doctor for Hillary Clinton Declares Her Healthy, Fit to Serve

    Sep 14, 2016 | Wall Street Journal

    By Peter Nicholas and Michael C. Bender

    Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Wednesday released additional medical information about the Democratic presidential nominee, as the health and fitness of the two major-party candidates remained a central focus of the race.
  3. Clinton campaign releases doctor’s letter describing ‘mild’ pneumonia

    Sep 14, 2016 | Washington Post

    By Abby Phillip and Anne Gearan

    Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a letter from her doctor Wednesday describing her treatment for “mild” bacterial pneumonia and painting an overall picture of good health in an attempt to put to rest concerns about her medical condition following her illness over the weekend.
  4. Doctor's Letter: A Detailed Look at Hillary Clinton's Health, Medications

    Sep 14, 2016 | Wall Street Journal

    By Colleen McCain Nelson

    Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a letter from the candidate’s physician declaring her “healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States,” while also giving further details about the medications she is taking and her recent bout of pneumonia.
  5. Hillary Clinton Is ‘Fit to Serve,’ Claims Doctor Who Doesn’t Even Have Her Own TV Show

    Sep 14, 2016 | Daily Intelligencer

    By Margaret Hartmann

    In yet another example of how poorly the Clinton campaign is handling the candidate’s illness, on Wednesday it released her physician’s update on her pneumonia in the form of a detailed two-page letter, rather than having the doctor appear before a TV audience.
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    National Coverage

  1. The Surprises In Hillary Clinton's Newly Released Medical Records

    Sep 14, 2016 | Forbes

    By Judy Stone

    Records released by Hillary Clinton’s long-time physician, Lisa Bardack, reveal several important things. Most importantly, she appears to be a normal, generally healthy woman who happened to get an infection.

    Dr. Bardack’s letter shows what a real letter of evaluation from an internist should look like, instead of the sloppy note from Donald Trump’s doctor, Harold Bornstein. In fact, that superficial note—dashed off in five minutes while Trump’s limo waited—was so filled with superlatives that it sounded like something Trump himself likely said. Trump’s results were “astonishingly excellent” and he would be the “healthiest individual ever elected.” Little substance, big bravado, and YUGE ego.

    Dr. Bardack’s letter gave considerable detail. I would have added that Hillary must be extraordinarily fit to sustain the level of work and campaigning that she has for such a prolonged period. Despite having a mild pneumonia, she did a two-hour national security briefing, a press conference, and more on September 9th, the day of her diagnosis. Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Epstein tweeted

    "Friday, day Clinton diagnosed w pneumonia, she appeared at 2 fundraisers, ran a 2-hour natl security mtg, did a presser, sat for CNN intvu"

    Hillary felt “overheated” at the 9/11 service and became felt dizzy. While this was attributed to dehydration, which is quite likely, the antibiotic she received may also have contributed to this.

    Treatment of Clinton’s pneumonia

    Dr. Bardack’s letter gives us quite a bit of detail as to Hillary’s health—perhaps more than we are entitled to. I can only comment based on information in that letter and what I see in Hillary’s public appearances. But I can say that I was a little bit surprised by two things revealed in the letter.

    The first is that Clinton had CAT scan done to evaluate her cough, rather than a regular chest x-ray. Was this VIP extra-cautious care or perhaps to avoid criticism that she hadn’t had a thorough enough examination? It did enable her physician to say that she had no calcifications in her coronary arteries, which would be a risk for heart disease.

    The choice of antibiotics troubles me. A mild, community-acquired pneumonia could be treated with an amoxicillin type drug and a macrolide (azithromycin or clarithromycin) or doxycycline. These drugs are much safer than Levaquin, a quinolone type of antibiotic.

    Why was Levaquin prescribed? I can obviously only guess, but it is commonly overprescribed because of irresponsible marketing, clinical guidelines that do not discourage its use, and harried physicians who use it as a short-cut, thinking it will “cover everything.” In this case, perhaps they wanted to bring out “the big guns” as a just in case.

    As I’ve written before, I am loath to use a quinolone. They are far more likely to have serious side effects, including dizziness and confusion, than a beta-lactam (penicillin type of antibiotic). I would also hesitate to use a quinolone in someone with a prior head injury, as they carry a small risk of seizure.

    Levaquin  and other quinolones also carry greater risk of cardiac rhythm disturbances (QTc prolongation), tendon rupture, and C. difficile colitis—as well as promoting antibiotic resistance. Azithromycin can also cause the same serious arrhythmia, QTc prolongation.

    Double standards

    Most of what this whole brouhaha tells us is that Clinton is being scrutinized and held to standards that no other candidate has been subjected to. The media has been echoing Trump, hounding her to release personal details of her health, which she has done. Trump has yet to release either basic health information or his tax returns, which are highly relevant to the current election. Why is he allowed to hide his past and is given a pass on most of his outrageous statements and behavior? Speaking to Dr. Oz is hardly being transparent.

    Hillary is placed in an unfair and untenable position. She is damned no matter what she does, including not resting as advised by her physician. Ignoring such advice and pushing on is common among high-achieving women. I’ve done that, as have most people I know. You charge ahead, doing what you have to do as best you can. Had she curtailed her schedule immediately, the conspiracists would have said she was weak and dying. Damned whatever she does.

    Conclusion

    In sum, Clinton was treated aggressively for her mild pneumonia and the choice of antibiotic may well have contributed to her dizziness or faintness. She has far more stamina and energy than most people. And given the level of stress and abuse she has been dealing with, she is one tough woman. Now the media should do what it has neglected all season—ask the same questions of Donald Trump and demand that he immediately answer and open his medical and tax records for scrutiny.

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  2. Doctor for Hillary Clinton Declares Her Healthy, Fit to Serve

    Sep 14, 2016 | Wall Street Journal

    By Peter Nicholas and Michael C. Bender

    Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Wednesday released additional medical information about the Democratic presidential nominee, as the health and fitness of the two major-party candidates remained a central focus of the race.

    A two-page note by Mrs. Clinton’s doctor aimed to reassure voters she is in good overall health coming off a pneumonia diagnosis and a near-collapse over the weekend while she was getting into her vehicle. In the letter, her physician pronounced her healthy and “fit to serve as president.”

    Under pressure to reveal more about his health, Donald Trump’s campaign initially said it would publicly release more medical details. Instead, the Republican nominee on Wednesday provided a written summary of a recent physical exam to TV doctor Mehmet Oz during a taping of his show, which is to air on Thursday.

    At a rally Wednesday evening, Mr. Trump mocked Mrs. Clinton’s recent health woes, suggesting she lacked his ability to endure giving a speech in a hot auditorium. “I don’t know, folks, do you think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this? I don’t think so,” he said to a crowd in Canton, Ohio.

    After three days recuperating at home in Chappaqua, N.Y., Mrs. Clinton will return to the campaign trail Thursday with an appearance in North Carolina. She is facing one of the most severe tests of the campaign, with polls showing her losing ground nationally and in key battleground states. Mr. Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, will meet with the Economic Club of New York on Thursday and will later hold an event in New Hampshire.

    Age is one reason health has emerged as a campaign issue likely to play out through Election Day. Beginning with Bill Clinton’s election in 1992, the past three presidents were first elected in their 40s or 50s.

    Mr. Trump is 70 years old, and if he prevails he would be the oldest newly elected president, eclipsing Ronald Reagan, who was 69 when he took the oath of office in 1981. Mrs. Clinton, who turns 69 next month, would be the second-oldest.

    “They’re among the oldest to run for president,” said Lawrence Altman, a physician who has written extensively about the health of U.S. presidents. “That’s all the more reason the public needs to know as much as it can about the health of the candidates, and have reasonable assurance that the person can fulfill the full term.”

    While conservative critics have drawn attention to a prolonged cough that occasionally interrupted Mrs. Clinton’s speaking appearances, the stakes rose appreciably for the Democrat when amateur video posted to social media showed her nearly collapsing Sunday after abruptly leaving a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York. About 90 minutes after she left the event, her campaign put out a statement saying she felt “overheated.” Hours later, campaign aides said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier.

    The information released Wednesday offered more details about her condition.

    Mrs. Clinton’s physician, Lisa Bardack, said that after several evaluations in recent days the former secretary of state is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She said a chest CT scan on Friday revealed that Mrs. Clinton had a mild, noncontagious bacterial pneumonia.

    In the letter released by the campaign, Dr. Bardack also described lab-test results that were normal, including cholesterol, heart rate and respiratory rate, as well as a normal mammogram and blood pressure.

    The medications Mrs. Clinton takes include the blood thinner Coumadin and the antihistamine Clarinex, the doctor said. Mrs. Clinton has experienced deep vein thrombosis, and previously had disclosed she takes such blood thinners to prevent blood clots. She also had an elbow fracture in 2009 and fainted and had a concussion in late 2012, which were discussed in a note from Dr. Bardack last year.

    Dr. Bardack said Mrs. Clinton’s blood levels have been relatively stable and that the former secretary of state has had several allergy flares during the past year. When Mrs. Clinton struggled with coughing last week, she initially attributed it to seasonal allergies.

    To combat the pneumonia, Mrs. Clinton is taking Levaquin for 10 days. The drug is widely prescribed, but the Food and Drug Administration in May decided to require heightened warnings about serious side effects from an oft-used class of antibiotics that includes Levaquin and its generic version levofloxacin. The warnings cite possible damage to tendons, muscles, joints, nerves and the central nervous system.

    Dr. Bardack concluded that, beyond the recent diagnosis and a past sinus and ear infection, the Democratic nominee has “remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year.”

    The Clinton campaign also released a one-page doctor’s letter attesting to the health of running mate Tim Kaine, saying the Virginia senator is “in overall excellent health.”

    Until his appearance on the Dr. Oz Show, Mr. Trump had released only a letter from his longtime doctor that offered scant details and ample superlatives, describing his health as “extraordinary.” That physician, Harold Bornstein, also performed the physical examination that was discussed on Wednesday’s show, according to a release by the show.

    In a clip of the appearance released Wednesday, Mr. Trump turned the moment into a bit of theater, asking the TV audience if he should publicly release more health information. “Should I do it? I have no problem,” he said, pulling several pieces of paper from a pocket inside his navy-blue suit.

    The Trump campaign didn’t release the report he gave to Dr. Oz. Audience members interviewed afterward by cable-television news shows said the GOP nominee conceded he doesn’t get much exercise and could lose a few pounds.

    “Donald Trump said that he makes a lot of speeches, and that his hand gesturing is the main source of his exercise,” Daniel Sinasohn, an audience member, said on MSNBC. “That’s how he exercises.”

    Many presidents have endured illness and infirmity while in office. Democrat Franklin Roosevelt died in office in 1945. Republican Dwight Eisenhower suffered a heart attack. Mr. Reagan underwent cancer surgery.

    “Health is an important issue for any candidate, but it’s especially true with two candidates who would be governing in their 70s,” said David Gergen, who worked in Bill Clinton’s White House and has served three Republican presidents.

    “We need to make health records part of the standard. The standard is you release them and if you don’t, voters can assume that you’re hiding something,” he added.

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  3. Clinton campaign releases doctor’s letter describing ‘mild’ pneumonia

    Sep 14, 2016 | Washington Post

    By Abby Phillip and Anne Gearan

    Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a letter from her doctor Wednesday describing her treatment for “mild” bacterial pneumonia and painting an overall picture of good health in an attempt to put to rest concerns about her medical condition following her illness over the weekend.

    The letter, from Clinton’s doctor, Lisa Bardack, noted that she received a CT scan confirming the pneumonia diagnosis and is now about halfway through a regimen on the antibiotic Levaquin. It came three days after Clinton’s illness caused her to stumble out of a memorial service and forced her off the campaign trail. Clinton’s campaign said the information updates a health history released last year.

    The campaign came under fire on Sunday, when Clinton fell ill at a Ground Zero commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. For 90 minutes after her abrupt departure, when she was seen buckling and stumbling into her van, the campaign offered no information on Clinton’s whereabouts or condition. It was many hours later before aides revealed the pneumonia diagnosis, which had come on Friday.

    “The remainder of her complete physical exam was normal and she is in excellent mental condition,” Bardack wrote in the letter. “She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

    Issues surrounding health and transparency have swirled around Clinton and her Republican rival, real estate mogul Donald Trump, in the past several weeks. Clinton, who turns 69 in October, would become the second-oldest president to enter the White House (after Ronald Reagan, who also was 69), while Trump, who turned 70 in June, would be the oldest. Neither has any known major medical problems.

    Clinton had previously released more extensive health information than Trump. She has also been the subject of persistent rumors and conspiracy-minded claims about her health. Although her campaign has dismissed such theories as bunk and even sexist, Clinton fed into them by ditching her press corps Sunday and not releasing timely information on her health or whereabouts.

    Trump discussed his own health during a taping of “The Dr. Oz Show” on Wednesday morning. He shared some of the results of his most recent physical examination, according to the show, even though earlier top campaign aides told reporters that he would not release any records on set and planned to talk about general wellness, not his personal health history.

    At one point during the show, which is scheduled to air Thursday, host Mehmet Oz asked Trump why he has not yet released his medical records, given that his health seems so strong.

    “Well, I really have no problem in doing it,” Trump said, according to a brief clip released by the show on Wednesday afternoon. “I have it right here. Should I do it? I don’t care. Should I do it?”

    Trump then pulled two pieces of paper out of his suit pocket that he said contained test results from his latest physical examination and a letter from Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. In the video clip, Oz is shown studying the two pieces of paper. Reporters were not allowed to attend the taping, and the campaign has not released the documents. The campaign also would not say what sort of medical records Trump plans to release or how many years they cover.

    Bardack is the chair of internal medicine at CareMount Medical in Mount Kisco, N.Y., and has served as Clinton’s personal physician since 2001. Her letter also described various medications that Clinton is taking, including Coumadin, a blood thinner. And it describes Clinton’s normal-ranging vital statistics: blood pressure of 100/70; a pulse of 70; and a total cholesterol level of 189.

    Bardack examined Clinton as recently as Wednesday and has done so several other times since she was diagnosed with pneumonia Friday, according to a campaign aide.

    The letter shows that Clinton has normal-ranging vital statistics, according to several doctors who reviewed the information but have never treated her. Her blood pressure and cholesterol levels are “good” or “excellent” and place her at low risk for illness for a woman her age, the doctors said.

    Clinton has received two vaccinations against pneumonia — Prevnar and Pneumovax — according to the letter. The new information also reveals more about Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis. She was tested with a non-contrast chest CT scan, which discovered a small right middle-lobe pneumonia.

    David Scheiner, who was Barack Obama’s physician for more than two decades until his election in 2008, praised Clinton’s doctor for conducting a chest CT scan, which typically would not be done to diagnose pneumonia.

    “I have to give the doctor credit for that one,” Scheiner said. “Because she has had blood clots, I think in the back of the doctor’s mind was, could she possibly have pulmonary embolism? That was a very smart move on the doctor’s part.”

    But Scheiner said he was perplexed by some of the medications that Clinton takes. He said the blood thinner Coumadin can be hard to regulate and that better alternatives exist. In addition, the Armour Thyroid tablets she takes for hypothyroidism are used on only a small percentage of patients.

    “That’s a bit unusual,” he said, noting that doctors rarely prescribe it.

    Other doctors noted that while Levaquin is an appropriate treatment for her pneumonia, one of its side effects is dizziness and lightheadedness. That could have been a contributing factor to her fainting on Sunday, said Greg Rosencrance, an internist at the Cleveland Clinic.

    Overall, Scheiner said the disclosures by Clinton’s campaign on Wednesday were “in the right vein.” But he argued that the current patchwork system that relies on campaigns to decide how much medical information to disclose, and often by a candidate’s personal physician, too often leaves Americans in the dark.

    “The question is how much info is enough? . . . I think we need to know everything about the candidates, and not just because these are two old geezers,” said Scheiner, who has advocated for complete, objective health reports from any candidate who wants to serve as commander in chief and lead the world’s largest economy.

    Clinton had previously released a letter from Bardack containing information about her health, medications and past health conditions, including a history of hypothyroidism and deep-vein thrombosis.

    After Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis, she kept the information secret and ignored her doctor’s advice to rest and modify her schedule. Instead, Clinton continued with a full day of campaign events, choosing to “power through” despite her illness.

    But by Sunday morning, Clinton became severely dehydrated during the outdoor memorial at Ground Zero, according to the campaign. She left the event early and was seen in video footage buckling as she was helped into her van by her aides and security detail.

    The campaign’s long delay in providing information to the media and the public prompted criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike.

    Clinton canceled three days of scheduled campaign events and has been resting at home in Chappaqua, N.Y. She is expected to return to the campaign trail with an event in Greensboro, N.C., on Thursday.

    “Obviously I should have gotten some rest sooner,” Clinton said on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” on Monday. “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.”

    Clinton previously suffered from severe dehydration in 2012, fainted and suffered a concussion. She was later diagnosed with a blood clot in her skull, discovered during routine testing while recovering.

    At the same time, Clinton has criticized Trump for releasing a letter from his physician earlier last year that contained virtually no objective health information. Trump has since said that he would release more medical information from a physical he received last week.

    Edward Geltman, a cardiologist at the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, said the information released shows Clinton to be healthy, with normal range for vitals. Her blood pressure is on the “low side of normal,” he said, so she would be prone to fainting and sensitive to dehydration.

    Geltman observed that the letter contained no information about the health of Clinton’s heart, such as an electrocardiogram. Those are fairly standard tests, and as people age, it is important to establish a baseline, he said. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. But because she does not smoke, does not appear to be particularly overweight and has good cholesterol levels, Clinton does not appear to be at risk for a heart attack, he said.

    Doctors also noted that Clinton is on minimal medications and has had appropriate breast cancer screening — but there is no mention of colon cancer screening.

    According to the letter, Clinton was diagnosed with a sinus infection and subsequently an ear infection in January, in the lead-up to the critically important Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

    She was treated with antibiotics and steroids. Later, a tube was placed in her left ear as part of the treatment.

    Bardack wrote that the symptoms improved, and a follow-up CT scan showed mild, chronic sinus infections but no abnormalities of the brain related to those illnesses.

    The campaign also released a comparable letter about Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who was said to be in “overall excellent health,” according to a letter released from the attending physician for Congress, Brian P. Monahan, who recommended only that Kaine, 58, add a daily vitamin D supplement to his diet. Monahan has been Kaine’s physician for three years.

    In his letter, Monahan noted that Kaine’s past surgical history is limited to tooth extractions. Kaine’s most recent electrocardiogram showed his heart appeared normal with the exception of a “mild left atrial enlargement.” No other problem areas were identified.

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  4. Doctor's Letter: A Detailed Look at Hillary Clinton's Health, Medications

    Sep 14, 2016 | Wall Street Journal

    By Colleen McCain Nelson

    Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a letter from the candidate’s physician declaring her “healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States,” while also giving further details about the medications she is taking and her recent bout of pneumonia.

    In the two-page letter, Dr. Lisa Bardack explained Mrs. Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis and assessed her overall health, saying that the remainder of the candidate’s physical exam was normal and that she is in “excellent mental condition.”

    A chest CT scan on Friday revealed a small right middle-lobe pneumonia that Dr. Bardack said was mild, noncontagious bacterial illness.

    “I advised her to stay home and rest for the next several days,” Dr. Bardack said of her instructions to Mrs. Clinton after the former secretary of state became overheated and felt dizzy on Sunday. “Mrs. Clinton has since been evaluated by me several times and continues to improve.”

    The release of Wednesday’s medical information came as the campaign worked to reassure voters that Mrs. Clinton is healthy, aside from her recent illness. She has been sidelined from the campaign trail this week with pneumonia, and both she and Republican rival Donald Turmp have faced intensifying questions about their health.

    The doctor’s letter also detailed Mrs. Clinton’s current medications and lab tests.

    Dr. Bardack described normal lab tests, including cholesterol, heart rate and respiratory rate, as well as a normal mammogram and blood pressure within a normal range.

    The medications Mrs. Clinton takes include the blood thinner Coumadin and the antihistamine Clarinex, the doctor said. In the past, the Democratic nominee has experienced deep-vein thrombosis, and she previously disclosed that she takes blood thinners to prevent new clots.

    Dr. Bardack said Mrs. Clinton’s blood levels have been relatively stable and that the former secretary of state has had several allergy flare-ups during the last year. When Mrs. Clinton struggled with persistent coughing on the campaign trail last week, she attributed it to seasonal allergies.

    Mrs. Clinton also is taking Levaquin for 10 days, presumably to treat her current illness. The drug is widely prescribed, but The Food and Drug Administration in May decided to require heightened warnings about serious side effects from an oft-used class of antibiotics that includes Levaquin and its generic version levofloxacin. The warnings cite possible damage to tendons, muscles, joints, nerves and the central nervous system.

    Dr. Greg Rosencrance, an internal medicine doctor and chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s Medicine Institute, said that a fluoroquinolone antibiotic like Levaquin “is appropriate for community-acquired pneumonia. Her illness has been handled appropriately.”

    He added, “We’ve moved away from a fluoroquinolone for simple infections, but for community-acquired pneumonia, it’s appropriate.”

    Dr. Bardack offered a generally positive assessment of Mrs. Clinton’s health, saying that beyond the recent pneumonia diagnosis and a past sinus and ear infection, the Democratic nominee has “remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year.”

    The former secretary of state’s illness has ramped up calls for her to release additional medical records and to provide more information about any underlying conditions. Mrs. Clinton, who previously made public a summary of her medical records, has remained resolute in saying she already had met the “standard of disclosure,” but she and her advisers decided this week to make more information about her health available for review.

    On Wednesday, Mr. Trump discussed the results of his recent physical examination during a taping of “The Dr. Oz Show,” but didn’t disclose the details publicly. The episode is scheduled to air Thursday. Previously, Mr. Trump had released only a short letter from a physician who wrote about his health in vague but glowing terms.

    Mrs. Clinton has been dogged by questions about her health this week after making a hasty, stumbling exit from a 9/11 memorial ceremony. After Mrs. Clinton nearly collapsed while walking toward her motorcade van, campaign officials initially said only that she “felt overheated.”

    Several hours later, the Clinton camp released a statement from the candidate’s doctor revealing that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday.

    Mrs. Clinton and her aides have said she initially had made the decision to try to push through her illness and continue campaigning. But after Sunday’s episode, Mrs. Clinton agreed to heed her doctor’s advice and take a few days to rest and recover.

    Mrs. Clinton hasn’t been seen in public since Sunday but is expected to return to the campaign trail on Thursday.

    In a one-page letter, Dr. Brian Monahan wrote that Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator from Virginia, is “in overall excellent health and active in your professional work and physical fitness endeavors without limitation.” The doctor noted that an electrocardiogram had shown mild left atrial enlargement and that a left mandibular tooth was awaiting repair. Dr. Monahan also recommended that Mr. Kaine add a daily vitamin D supplement to his diet.

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  5. Hillary Clinton Is ‘Fit to Serve,’ Claims Doctor Who Doesn’t Even Have Her Own TV Show

    Sep 14, 2016 | Daily Intelligencer

    By Margaret Hartmann

    Dr. Lisa Bardack, the chair of internal medicine at CareMount Medical in Mount Kisco, New York, said Clinton went to see her on Friday, September 2, saying she’d been suffering from a low-grade fever, congestion, and fatigue for one day. She was put on a short course of antibiotics, and advised to rest and continue taking her medication for seasonal allergies.

    Over the next few days her congestion worsened and she developed a cough. On Friday, September 9, Clinton visited Bardack’s office again, and had a chest CT scan. David Scheiner, who was Barack Obama’s longtime physician before Obama was elected president, praised this unusual move, telling the Washington Post, “Because she has had blood clots, I think in the back of the doctor’s mind was, could she possibly have pulmonary embolism? That was a very smart move on the doctor’s part.”

    Clinton was diagnosed with mild, non-contagious bacteria pneumonia, and told to rest. As we all know, she didn’t take that advice, and became dizzy and dehydrated at a 9/11 memorial event on Sunday. Another doctor who has not treated Clinton told the Post that the antibiotic she’s been taking, Levaquin, can cause dizziness and lightheadedness, which may have contributed to the incident.

    The candidate finally took a few days off from the campaign, and Bardack said she has “since been evaluated by me several times and continues to improve.” 

    Bardack included the results of various tests Clinton has had in the past month, including her cholesterol level and blood pressure. “She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest,” the doctor concluded. “She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

    However, earlier on Wednesday, Donald Trump proved that he’s even healthier than Clinton when he dramatically pulled his own two-page report from his pocket during a taping of The Dr. Oz Show. Now, no one can claim that Trump hasn’t released a complete assessment of his health; this time his physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, didn’t write the letter in five minutes while a Trump limo driver waited outside. 

    We won’t know all of Dr. Bornstein’s findings until the episode airs on Thursday, but according to audience members, Trump has a high testosterone level. That’s probably why he finally broke today after restraining himself from commenting on Clinton’s failing health for three whole days. 

    “You think this is easy? In this beautiful room that is 122 degrees,” Trump said during a rally in Ohio. (Politico notes it was actually chillier than usual.) “It is hot and it is always hot when I perform, because the crowds are so big, these rooms were not designed for this kind of crowd.

    “I don’t know folks, do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?”

    Hey, not fair — that’s for Dr. Oz to decide. 

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