As Americans prepare to elect a new president in November, everything about the candidates will be open to public scrutiny, including their medical histories. But history doesn’t lie, and many presidents have had serious health issues: George Washington’s dental problems, William Howard Taft’s morbid obesity and Franklin Roosevelt’s crippling polio come to mind most often.

American presidential history however is full of surprising medical facts – and proof that serious health issues don’t necessarily preclude someone from succeeding at what is arguably the hardest job in the world.

Each week until the election, HealthLeader will focus on the medical histories of a variety of presidents. We begin this series by learning a little more about the health histories of the two candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain.

Barack Obama

At 47, Barack Obama is one of the youngest people to seek the presidency of the United States. His relative youth is a benefit to him, not only in how he is perceived by many people but also how his body responds to the stressors put upon it.

A longtime smoker, Obama has quit the habit several times in the past and now reports that he is smoke-free, with the help of nicotine-replacement gum. His family history of cancer, however, combined with his smoking, may be of some concern. Obama’s mother died of ovarian and uterine cancer at age 52, and his grandfather died of prostate cancer.

Smoking can have long-term effects other than cancer. Even smokers who have quit are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular problems, including emphysema and heart disease. Smoking also can negatively impact a person’s immune system and diminish lung capacity.

Obama also has admitted use of illegal drugs – marijuana and cocaine – as a teenager. He has said that his drug use “was reflective of the struggles and confusion of a teenage boy. Teenage boys are frequently confused.”

His personal physician, David Scheiner, MD, a general internist at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Rush University Medical Center, released a statement earlier this year that his patient was in “excellent health,” with a cholesterol level of 173 and a blood pressure of 90 over 60.

Obama maintains a “lean and muscular build, with no excess body fat,” according to his doctor, by playing basketball and the regular use of exercise equipment.

John McCain

John McCain, on the other hand, will be 72 by the November election. If he wins, he will be the oldest man ever elected president.

McCain, who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for 25 years before quitting in 1980, is believed to be in good health despite a 15-year history of skin cancers, bouts with precancerous polyps in his colon, kidney stones and cysts in his bladder. He takes a cholesterol medication and another that prevents kidney stones, as well as an occasional sleeping pill.

Shot down

His medical history is quite involved, however. On Oct. 26, 1967, McCain was flying his 23rd bombing raid over North Vietnam when his plane was shot down by a missile over Hanoi. Bailing out upside down at a high speed, the force of the ejection caused him to lose consciousness and broke his right arm in three places and both of his legs.

After landing in a lake, McCain was dragged ashore by a mob that beat him, bayoneted his left foot and abdomen, and crushed his left shoulder with the butt of a rifle. He was then taken to a prisoner of war camp, where he would spend the next five-and-a-half years.

He was later placed in solitary confinement and was subjected to beatings, often several times a day, and rope binding. During that time, he received little, if any, medical care, and became gravely ill with dysentery. His crushed shoulder, fractured arm, and broken legs were not treated, which caused them all to heal incorrectly. To this day, McCain is unable to lift his arms above his head and suffers from degenerative arthritis from his old wounds.

Skin cancer

More recently, McCain’s health nemesis has been skin cancer. He has had four malignant melanomas removed, as well as other skin cancers, over the last 15 years. The most serious was an invasive melanoma that was removed from his left temple, along with underlying lymph nodes, in 2000. The surgery left a scar almost two inches in diameter and a depression that ran down the side of his face and exaggerated the jaw muscle. In 2001, McCain underwent reconstructive surgery to improve the appearance of the scar and, for a time, wore a face mask at night to help reduce the scarring.

“Given Senator McCain’s fair skin and history of sunburns, it’s especially important for him to keep a careful watch for any suspicious areas,” says Adelaide Hebert, MD, professor of dermatology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. “I applaud him for his vigilance, and in fact, I often use him as an example for my patients. If Mr. McCain, a senator who is currently running for president, can find the time to monitor his skin, anyone should be able to.”

Despite his troubled health past, McCain appears to be healthy and vigorous. Two years ago, he walked the entire rim of the Grand Canyon, and during heart stress tests he treadmills a full 10 minutes, much longer than many people half his age.

“I think physiologically he is considerably younger than his chronologic age based on his cardiovascular fitness,” says McCain’s personal physician, John Eckstein, MD, a Mayo Clinic physician. “I got a call from the cardiologist who said that he had not seen anyone that age exercise for that long during a stress test in a long time.”

Last Updated: 8-27-2008

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