MINNEAPOLIS — Most folks keep their medical issues close to the vest. Not Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
He put everything out there, letters from three different physicians detailing the results of his latest checkups and every significant part of his health history.
The kinds of things medical providers aren’t allowed to release to the public were freely shared by Sanders, one of the top presidential candidates in the Democratic field in 2020.
“I did see Senator Sanders’ medical report and it’s remarkably good. It’s also remarkable it’s been released in such detail,” Dr. David Hilden, an internal medicine specialist and VP of Medical Affairs at Hennepin Healthcare, told KARE.
Dr. Hilden has treated many patients in Sanders’ age range, including people who – like Sanders – were recovering from heart attacks.
“With modern technology, which Senator Sanders had -- he had the stent placed -- he can live essentially symptom free and pain free and have a normal life span.”
Presidents and presidential candidates aren’t required to have physicals or to share the results with the public. But they often feel compelled to do so to reassure voters that they’re fit to hold that high-stress post.
Past presidents have often been advised to hide their health troubles from the public in order to maintain the perception of strength and wellness.
It’s why most Americans didn’t know that JFK was plagued by severe back pain and had Addison’s Disease, which keeps the body from producing enough hormones to manage blood pressure and blood sugar.
FDR’s advisers went to extreme lengths to make sure he was never photographed using braces or a wheelchair, which he needed due to the ravaging effects of polio.
“That's unfortunate and maybe a sign of the times,” Dr. Hilden remarked.
“I would hope that we reject that today. I would hope we'd see a person in a wheelchair and not make a judgment about how good of a leader he or she could be, because they can be just as strong!”
Even in more recent history health concerns have been weaponized. One recent example came in 2016 when then-candidate Hillary Clinton was captured on video looking wobbly as she headed to a van.
After the opposition and pundits pounced on it, the Clinton campaign revealed the former Secretary of State was recovering from a bout of pneumonia.
“Who among us hasn't been sick and looked a little peaked going to work one day? Thinking of Hillary Clinton, who among us hasn't had that happen?”
The effects of aging on health will no doubt be a factor for some voters, considering the current front-runners are all in their 70s. Sanders at 78, Joe Biden at 76, President Trump at 72 and Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 70.
Doctor Hilden points out that average life expectancy is a prediction based on expected life span at birth, not decades into someone's life.
“If you're already 78 years old your chances of living much older are much higher because you've already outlived the things that have taken other people, such as accidents and diseases,” Dr. Hilden observed.
“I'd be more comfortable with a 78-year-old person who is cogently able to talk about their policies, like the presidential candidates. I'd be more comfortable with them, than with a very unhealthy 40-year-old -- that person's kind of beating the odds a little bit.”
Age does raise the risk of certain maladies, including dementia. It’s why airline pilots and surgeons undergo routine cognitive tests when they turn 70.
But Hilden says it doesn’t mean it will happen to everyone who turns older, including the septuagenarians in the race for the White House.
“You can have people who are well into their 70s, well into their 80s, who are fit, they’re mentally fit, so I do hesitate to cite anyone’s age as an absolute disqualifier for anything, including the presidency of the United States.”