WASHINGTON — Senator Bernie Sanders released a physician’s letter Thursday saying he’s in “overall very good health,” fulfilling a promise to release a summary of his health records before Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
The letter from Dr. Brian Monahan — the attending physician at the Capitol — said the 74-year-old senator has had a variety of medical conditions over the years, and acknowledged his hernia surgery late last year as well as the removal of “superficial skin tumors” and a cyst from his vocal cords.
Among other things, the letter said Sanders has had gout, a form of arthritis; a “mild” case of high cholesterol; diverticulitis, a kind of inflammation of the digestive tract; and hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormones.
It also said he has had laryngitis linked to acid reflux, and has had lumbar strain — lower back problems.
“You are in overall very good health and active in your professional work, and recreational lifestyle without limitation,” Monahan wrote. It notes that the Capitol physician’s office “has served as your physician for the past 26 years.”
The letter was Sanders’s attempt to put any concerns to rest that his age could affect his job performance if he’s elected president. He has come under growing pressure to release his health records, including from Hillary Clinton, who has noted that she released a summary of her health records last year.
Sanders promised earlier this week that there wouldn’t be “any surprises” in his health records, and the letter doesn’t suggest any serious ongoing medical conditions.
It says Sanders takes levothyroxine — a medication that’s used to treat hypothyroidism — every day, and occasionally takes an anti-inflammatory drug called indomethacin.
Overall, the letter isn’t as thorough as Clinton’s two-page letter, which detailed the concussion she suffered as a result of a fall in 2012. It’s also not as over-the-top as the letter from Donald Trump’s physician, who wrote that he would be the “healthiest individual ever” elected president.
