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Washington
CNN
—
President Joe Biden is fit for duty, his doctor reported Wednesday after the president’s annual medical exam, in what is expected to be the last update on Biden’s health before the November election.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a memo that there were “no new concerns” about the president’s health as a result of this year’s medical exam. The White House announced early Wednesday that a cognitive test was not administered because O’Connor determined it was not necessary.
“The President is in good physical condition and this year’s medical examination revealed no new concerns. He continues to be fit for duty and is fully fulfilling all his responsibilities without granting any exemptions or accommodations. ” O’Connor wrote.
It added: “President Biden is a healthy, active and strong 81-year-old man who remains qualified to successfully carry out the duties of the President, including as Chief Executive, Head of State, and Commander in Chief.”
Mr. Biden, now 81 years old, is the oldest president to ever hold office. He would be 86 years old at the end of a potential second term.
Biden has been dogged by persistent criticism and concerns about his age and physical strength. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS released earlier this month found that 46% of Democrats were concerned about their age. A recent national poll from Quinnipiac University found that only about a third (35%) of registered voters say Biden has what it takes to serve a second term, and 34% say he has what it takes to serve a second term. He answered that he had spiritual powers.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her daily press briefing Wednesday that Biden’s doctor determined that the president “does not need cognitive testing.” Cognitive tests were not part of the standard presidential medical exam, but Biden’s predecessor and likely future political opponent, Donald Trump, tested them during at least one presidential medical exam. He underwent a cognitive function test. If Biden or his doctor has special concerns, his doctor is likely to perform a brief evaluation that could determine whether further evaluation is recommended.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of independent experts whose recommendations guide physician decisions and influence insurance coverage, will assess the benefits and harms of screening for cognitive impairment in asymptomatic adults 65 and older. states that there is insufficient evidence. The report notes that evaluations of cognitive impairment most commonly occur “as a result of concerns or symptoms reported by patients or caregivers, or as a result of clinician suspicion.”
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst who was not part of the team that tested Biden, said it was probably the medically sound decision not to test Biden, but that he did not test Biden anyway. He said that he may have recommended that he undergo the procedure.
“If I were the president’s physician, I probably would have pushed for that, because when someone like me reads this report, I think, with all the concerns about the age of the patient and all the other relevant issues, “Reading the report will be painful and will affect his cognitive ability going forward,” Reiner said. “From a political standpoint, I probably would have encouraged them to report it, but I’m sure that’s the decision of the patients and the political advisers.”
O’Connor’s letter also includes additional medical appointments to include optometry, dentistry, orthopedics (foot and ankle), orthopedics (spine), physical therapy, neurology, sleep medicine, cardiology, radiology, and dermatology. The specialty of the doctor selected is detailed. In his letter, O’Connor also noted that other doctors in the White House Medical Unit were reviewing his report.
“Each of these experts independently reviewed the medical records, investigated the President, and agreed with my findings and recommendations,” O’Connor wrote.
The president’s physician, including details of the president’s medical exam, noted that the president weighed 178 pounds and was 6 feet tall, exactly the same height and weight recorded at his last medical exam in February 2023. . Work out at least 5 days a week. ”
Previous tests had indicated that Biden had a stiff gait due to “wear and tear” on his spine. Wednesday’s exam found that Biden’s “arthritic changes remain moderate to severe, but nerve root compression has not yet occurred to the point of requiring special treatment.”
Biden has recently complained of pain in his left hip, which “certainly contributes to the stiffness of his gait,” the memo said. Biden’s gait remains stiff, but no worse than last year, the memo said.
A “very detailed” neurological examination found no findings consistent with a neurological disease such as stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease.
A neurological exam is “important information,” Reiner said.
“Things that can cause stiffness in gait are neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Lou Gehrig’s disease,” says Reiner. “The neurology consultant who examined the president does not believe any of them are at play. Rather, this is a mechanical problem due to degenerative disease of the spine and subsequent stiffness. Neurology also said: The fact that I was examined shows that the examination was thorough.”
Biden’s age has been one of the biggest political concerns in his bid for re-election, but the president humorously addressed the issue Wednesday by saying doctors “think I’m too young.”
Mr. Biden has recently attempted to address the age issue head-on, with special counsel Robert Hur suggesting at a recent press conference that jurors may view him as a “well-intentioned elderly person with a poor memory.” vehemently criticized the report. ”
“I say this with good intentions. And I’m an older man. And I know what I’m doing. I became president and got this country back on its feet. His recommendation. We don’t need that,” a clearly exasperated Biden said at the time.
But at an off-camera fundraiser a few weeks later, Biden candidly acknowledged his age, saying, “I might not be able to run as fast as I used to.”
“I’ll tell you, I’ve been around long enough to know what’s going on,” he told a group of donors in Beverly Hills, California. “I’ve lived long enough that I hope that as I get older I’ll have a little bit more wisdom about how to get things done.
Biden has credited his age with the wisdom of experience, and earlier this week he tried a new line of attack against former President Donald Trump during an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” , how old are the candidates who suggested voters simply shouldn’t consider them, but “how old are (their) ideas?”
Wednesday’s visit to Walter Reed will be Biden’s third medical checkup since taking office. O’Connor wrote that many of the health concerns raised last year remained stable in this year’s exam.
Biden is being treated for non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib), an arrhythmia. O’Connor said Biden has not yet shown any symptoms. O’Connor also said she continues to experience “occasional symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease,” which means she has to clear her throat frequently.
The White House says Biden recently started using a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP) to treat his sleep apnea after indentations from the straps were seen on either side of the president’s face last summer. announced. Mr. Biden began using the device to improve the quality of his sleep, officials said. Although not listed in his public health records, medical records released in 2008 showed Biden had recurrent sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly. According to the American Medical Association, approximately 30 million people in the United States have sleep apnea, but only 6 million have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. According to the National Institutes of Health, CPAP machines “use gentle air pressure to keep your breathing airways open while you sleep.”
In a letter Wednesday, O’Connor wrote that the president “has shown an excellent response to PAP and is eagerly responding to treatment.”
Last June, Biden was forced to cancel a day of a planned event due to unscheduled root canal treatment due to pain in his lower premolar. O’Connor said the process was “successfully completed” at the White House by Walter Reed’s team.
The president has no legal obligation to release information about his health and can choose which details to release. Reports from the White House physician over the past several decades have consistently said the official is qualified for the job.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Mira Cheng contributed to this report.
This article has been updated with additional reporting.
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