Doctor: Obama is in 'excellent health'
WASHINGTON (AP) - May 29, 2008 In a one-page letter released by the campaign, Obama's longtime
physician, Chicago internist Dr. David L. Scheiner, said he was
summarizing 21 years of medical records, during which the Democrat
suffered only minor problems such as upper respiratory infections.
But hanging over that positive assessment: Obama is a smoker who
has quit but relapsed several times. Obama, 46, announced in
February that he was quitting again with the aid of Nicorette gum.
His doctor said only that Obama is using Nicorette "with
success."
Smoking causes a list of dangerous effects, including heart
disease, strokes and lung cancer - and it takes the body a long
time to heal after someone quits for good. Government statistics
show that 15 years after quitting, the risk of heart disease drops
almost to that of a never-smoker; 10 years later, the risk of lung
cancer drops by as much as half.
It wasn't clear when Scheiner had last seen Obama to verify the
Nicorette use. But he said the senator's last official checkup in
January 2007 found:
-Obama exercised regularly, often jogging three miles and had
"no excess body fat." Actual weight wasn't disclosed.
-Excellent blood pressure, at 90 over 60. Optimal blood pressure
is considered to be below 120 over 80.
-Very healthy cholesterol, with a total cholesterol of 173
(desirable is under 200); the so-called bad or LDL kind 96 (less
than 100 is optimal); and the so-called good or HDL kind at 68
(desirable is over 60).
-No signs of problems on standard blood tests or a heart EKG.
Scheiner noted that Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer and
his maternal grandfather died of prostate cancer.
Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society said that family
history isn't strong enough to be of concern; doctors worry if a
father or uncle had prostate cancer.
But black men are at increased risk of prostate cancer overall,
enough that doctors often begin prostate screening, called a PSA
exam, in the 40s - even though, Brawley stressed, PSA screening
hasn't actually been proven to save lives. Still, Obama's PSA last
year registered a very low 0.6, meaning no sign of abnormalities.
Without worrisome symptoms today and if he's stopped smoking,
"it would be very hard for medical science to predict he's going
to have any disease even over the next 30 years," much less the
next eight, Brawley said.
The sparse information stands in contrast to Republican
candidate John McCain, 71, who last week released almost 2,000
pages of full medical records documenting eight years of his health
- including successful treatment for melanoma - and his own
doctors' conclusion that he was fit for the presidency.