U.S. presidential candidate Sanders given clean bill of health after October heart attack

By Simon Lewis

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign rally at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 21, 2019. REUTERS/Monica Almeida

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders passed a stress test this month after a heart attack required him to have two stents inserted in an artery in October, doctors to the Democratic presidential candidate said on Monday.

 

Sanders' campaign released letters from his main doctor and two heart specialists, who all gave the 78-year-old White House hopeful a clean bill of health after physical exams, electrocardiogram monitoring and a treadmill stress test.

 

"Mr Sanders is more than fit enough to pursue vigorous activities and an occupation that requires stamina and an ability to handle a great deal of stress," said Philip A. Ades, the director of cardiac rehabilitation at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVM), where the senator had the stress test on Dec. 11.

 

Ades said in his letter that Sanders' exercise capacity was average for otherwise healthy men his age with no known heart disease.

 

Sanders was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains during a campaign event in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, and temporarily suspended campaign appearances.

 

He was back on the campaign trail promoting his agenda - which includes expansion of government-run healthcare - within weeks, and appeared healthy during televised debates in November and December.

 

The recovery, and the endorsements of high-profile progressives like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have seen Sanders' polling numbers rise just as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is also campaigning on left-wing proposals like a wealth tax, has seen her support dip.

 

Sanders has the support of about 18.9% of voters in the Democratic nominating contest, according to an average of recent opinion polls by Real Clear Politics. Sanders trails former Vice President Joe Biden, who is on 28.3%, and leads both Warren (15.3%) and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (8.3%) in the polling average.

 

Martin M. LeWinter, attending cardiologist at UVM, said in a letter that while Sanders had suffered modest heart muscle damage and was receiving some medication, he was not showing any negative symptoms.

 

"At this point, I see no reason he cannot continue campaigning without limitation and, should he be elected, I am confident he has the mental and physical stamina to fully undertake the rigors of the Presidency," LeWinter wrote.

 

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; additional reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Chris Reese and Rosalba O'Brien)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-31

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Glad the old duffer is ok!

His chances of winning are about the same as having a democratic elections in N. Korea...

A clean bill of health after a heart attack several weeks prior? Give me a break. 

With the age of the frontrunners it is vitally important for voters to consider the running mate as the potential to have to step up from VP is high. I include Don in this.

Sanders is already older than Trump will be when he leaves office in 2025. Let that sink in for a minute and ask yourself what is the Democratic party doing?

 

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

His chances of winning are about the same as having a democratic elections in N. Korea...

But then I heard the same about The Donald.

25 minutes ago, rabas said:

Sanders is already older than Trump will be when he leaves office in 2025. Let that sink in for a minute and ask yourself what is the Democratic party doing?

 

The Democratic Party is being led back to policies for the working middle class upon which rests any hope of a US participatory democracy.

1 hour ago, DoctorG said:

With the age of the frontrunners it is vitally important for voters to consider the running mate as the potential to have to step up from VP is high. I include Don in this.

I am currently an avid supporter of the policies promoted by Bernie Sanders but certainly agree that a VP selection is very important in the 2020 election.

3 hours ago, HuskerDo said:

A clean bill of health after a heart attack several weeks prior? Give me a break. 

Yeah, because we all know that medical science does not work. In the light of full transparency I confess to having had heart issues fixed in the past. Marathon? No. My ability to use my mind, travel freely? Not an issue.

it's not that the left has moved further left, the Republican party has moved further right.  it's all relative. 

Bernie iQ at 119 which is high compare to Trump’s 78 is enough reason for him to start kicking his hind.

 

52 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

But then I heard the same about The Donald.

Who really knows in politics, 10 years ago is was unheard of to think that a black guy rumoured to be a closet muslim, will be a US president, and then comes Trump, in a class of his own, so judging by the above, a geezer socialist jew with one leg in the grave is not a far fetched scenario at all...  

Edited December 31, 20196 yr by ezzra

1 hour ago, wwest5829 said:

But then I heard the same about The Donald.

There's a difference though. It was media that didn't believe Donald could win, but his party supported him nonetheless. In Bernie's case it was his party (well sort of, as he's democrat aligned but officially independent) that terminated his campaign and I bet they'll do it again. It was said in 2016 that he would have beaten Trump by 10+ percentage point, vs. Hillary who was actually projected to lose before media tried to convince everyone the opposite, which (in my opinion) contributed to his winning by energising his voters (or rather those who couldn't stand Hillary) and making her voters too lazy to get up and vote thinking she'd win anyway.

19 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

There's a difference though. It was media that didn't believe Donald could win, but his party supported him nonetheless. In Bernie's case it was his party (well sort of, as he's democrat aligned but officially independent) that terminated his campaign and I bet they'll do it again. It was said in 2016 that he would have beaten Trump by 10+ percentage point, vs. Hillary who was actually projected to lose before media tried to convince everyone the opposite, which (in my opinion) contributed to his winning by energising his voters (or rather those who couldn't stand Hillary) and making her voters too lazy to get up and vote thinking she'd win anyway.

IMHO I see some hint that the media might be recognizing that Sander’s supporters are every bit as dedicated as Trump supporters for this election. For myself, as a registered Democrat, I voted for neither Clinton nor Trump thinking that neither earned my vote. The Democrats are again faced with supporting more of the same (more of the policies of the last 30-45 years that has brought us to the current debacle). I agree with the fact you pointed out, many did not bother to vote. My reading on this, however, attributes this to some being lazy but a goodly number simply being disaffected seeing the choice they were given in 2016. It continues to amaze that too many of the working middle class refuse to see that betting on The Donald was a poor, if understandable choice and not recognizing that Sander’s policies address the very issue that Is at the core of their justified frustration/anger.

3 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Bernie iQ at 119 which is high compare to Trump’s 78 is enough reason for him to start kicking his hind.

 

one would think with that iq he'd have worked on diminishing that full on thick ny brooklyn accent.

9 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders passed a stress test this month

Yes but if they had conducted a brain scan it would have shown to be flat lined.