The presidency of the United States of America, by almost universal acclaim, is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. Every four years, presidential candidates come under the spotlight as Americans probe into whether or not the candidates are fit to serve in such a role. As voters prepare to cast their ballots this November they will have to consider factors that, as of recently, include Secretary Hillary Clinton’s health.
In December of 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered a concussion and – a blood clot in the brain – fainting. The secretary recovered from the potential life-threatening condition, but recent developments on the campaign trail have prompted concern over lasting damage.
According to an international study conducted in 2004, roughly 43 percent of patients with the condition go on to experience residual symptoms. These ranged from being mildly impaired to being severely handicapped, including 10.6 percent of the patients who had recurrent seizures.
Questions about whether or not Clinton was suffering from mild seizures began to surface when a video clip emerged on the Sean Hannity show featuring Clinton with convulsing head movement in response to a question from AP reporter Lisa Lerer. On the show, Hannity discussed the possibility of Clinton suffering from seizures linked to her blood clot. Lerer later tweeted that she ‘was not scared’ by Clinton’s response, and suggested that Clinton was “perhaps eager to avoid answering” her question.
Board certified physician Dr. Daniel Kassicieh commented “As a neurologist, I would interpret these and more recent events involving Hillary as possibly showing signs of post-concussive syndrome. This condition could have a serious impact on the cognitive and intellectual functioning of an individual, particularly a high-level job as [President of the United States].”
While Secretary Clinton has not released her full medical records, she has publicly rejected the notion that her health is a concern in the presidential cycle. She spoke on the Jimmy Kimmel show about it saying “I don’t know why they are saying this. I think on the one hand its part of their wacky strategy… on the other hand it just absolutely makes no sense.”
Even still, prominent physicians have expressed their concerns. Bob Lahita, a Professor of Medicine at Rutgers University said “the very fact that she’s having these clots and she’s had two bouts of thrombosis is disconcerting to say the least”.
According to an international study conducted in 2004, roughly 43 percent of patients with the condition go on to experience residual symptoms. These ranged from being mildly impaired to being severely handicapped, including 10.6 percent of the patients who had recurrent seizures.
Additionally Dr. Drew Pinsky, who is best known for his work on VH1 and MTV expressed he was “gravely concerned… not just about her health but her health care”. Pinsky also noted that the ‘very medicine doctors are using may be causing this problem and they’re using an old fashioned medicine to treat it” in reference to the coagulant Coumadin Clinton was prescribed.
There is precedent for concern over the health of a presidential candidate. In 2008 sufficient inquiry from voters and medical professionals into Senator John McCain’s health prompted him to release his medical records in his presidential run against current President Barack Obama. A recent Rasmussen poll showed 59% of voters believe all major presidential candidates should release their medical records. Despite this, Secretary Clinton has not yet answered calls for her to release her recent medical history.