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Election
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Veep in “excellent health,” doctor says, with history that includes seasonal allergies, urticaria
by
Shannon Firth, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today
October 14, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris is in “excellent health,” according to a report from her physician released over the weekend.
In a two-page White House memorandum, Joshua Simmons, MD, Harris’ primary care physician, noted that the Democratic presidential nominee “possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”
Simmons described Harris as a healthy 59-year-old woman, citing her most recent physical exam in April, which he called “unremarkable.”
He said that her medical history is notable for seasonal allergies, primarily consisting of allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis, and “sporadic and transient” urticaria, which she treats with over-the-counter and prescription medications, including fexofenadine (Allegra), ipratropium bromide (Atrovent) nasal spray, and olopatadine (Pataday) eye drops.
Harris has also been receiving allergen immunotherapy for the past 3 years, and her symptoms have improved “dramatically,” Simmons said.
As previously reported, Harris has a maternal history of colon cancer. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, died at age 70 from the disease in 2009. Having a first-degree relative with a history of colorectal cancer increases the vice president’s risk. For people like Harris with a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer, guidelines recommend a colonoscopy at age 40 or 10 years earlier than the age at which the family member was diagnosed.
Simmons said Harris has followed all preventive care recommendations, including colonoscopy and annual mammograms, and she is up to date on all routine immunizations.
Harris’ routine bloodwork at her most recent physical in April was “unremarkable,” he noted. Her vital signs included a blood pressure of 128/74 mm Hg, a heart rate of 78 beats per minute, and a pulse oximetry of 100% on room air with a respiratory rate of 16 breaths per minute.
She also had a normal cardiac exam “with a regular rate and rhythm, no murmurs or abnormal heart sounds, and normal extremity pulses.” Her lungs were clear with normal breathing sounds. Harris’ abdominal exam was also normal, and her ECG showed a normal sinus rhythm.
Her only surgery was a laparotomy with an incidental appendectomy for intussusception at age 3.
Simmons said Harris has “a healthy, active lifestyle”; her regimen includes a daily aerobic workout and core strength exercises. Her diet is “very healthy,” she doesn’t use tobacco products, and she “drinks only occasionally and in moderation.” The vice president takes vitamin D3 supplementation for skeletal health.
Harris wears corrective contact lenses for mild myopia, and is “able to read comfortably without contacts or glasses.”
John Sotos, MD, a retired cardiologist and Air Force flight surgeon in San Jose, California, whose website chronicles former presidents’ medical histories, told MedPage Today that “the note [from Simmons] discloses no medical condition that could imperil Vice President Harris’ executive function or communication abilities over a 4-year presidential term.”
“Logically, the report will make a difference in the campaign only to the extent that voters had prior concerns about her health that have now been allayed,” he said. “I have not heard any fair-minded concerns about her health, so I expect that this medical report will have little effect, beyond the inevitable comparisons to the three-paragraph, 11-month-old medical note about her 78-year-old opponent’s health.”
In an August interview, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he would “very gladly” release his medical records, though this has not occurred as of press time. (Here is what is known to date about Trump’s medical history.)
A week after the July assassination attempt, Trump’s campaign issued a memo from his former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson, MD (R-Texas).
Sotos pointed out that Jackson’s note offered little information beyond describing Trump’s ear injury, and did not comment on the results of his CT scan.
On Saturday, while speaking to the press, Harris implied that Trump and his staff do not “want the American people to really see what he is doing and if he is fit to be the president.”
Neither presidential candidate has given reporters access to their physicians to ask additional questions.
Shannon Firth has been reporting on health policy as MedPage Today’s Washington correspondent since 2014. She is also a member of the site’s Enterprise & Investigative Reporting team. Follow
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