Biden In "Excellent Health"
SEATTLE, WA -- With 15 days remaining until voters go to the polls, Barack Obama's campaign granted access to Joe Biden's medical records today for the first time. The information, provided by Biden to the campaign during the vetting process this summer, is not comprehensive but appears to indicate that he is in generally good condition.
Biden's personal physician, Dr. John Eisold, the attending physician of the United States Senate, was not made available to speak with reporters. He did give a briefing to Dr. Matthew Parker, a Washington physician, who relayed information to reporters on a conference call this afternoon. Parker said he only reviewed the documents distributed to reporters but that his impression is that Biden is "in excellent health."
Included in the 49-page series of documents is a "Problem List" identifying 13 issues, most notably the cerebral aneurism Biden suffered in 1988, as well as a 2006 "atrial fibrillation," a heart condition that was deemed minor and treated only with aspirin. He is currently on medication for BPH and high cholesterol, and a recent examination found good blood pressure.
The reports provided to the reporters traveling with Biden in Seattle and to others in Washington and Chicago did not include any significant documentation of treatment for the aneurysm. The campaign has promised that there will be some information forwarded later on any follow-ups and brain scans. Parker, because he only reviewed the records, said he was not in a position to discuss whether additional testing should be done.
"The only information I have past that is what you have in front of you," he said. "I do have a very clear impression from Dr. Eisold, his treating personal physician, that he was fine and everything that needed to be done was being done. But I have the same information that you do."
The documents include a report of Biden's treatment in '06 for a "lone atrial fibrillation." Biden at the time felt "irregular heartbeat through the course of the afternoon," and reported that he felt "fatigued, uneasy and the sensation that his heart 'wasn't in sync.'" Doctors were "reassured" when a stress test found no "significant structural abnormalities" and recommended only "lifestyle measures" to decrease risk of further episodes, including regular exercise and decreased caffeine intake (he said he had 7-8 cups a day).
The senator's last colonoscopy was in 2001, though the documents did not include the report. The most recent report from a colonoscopy in 1996 showed that there was a biopsy taken on a 3 mm rectal polyp. It was recommended that he have another colonoscopy within three years.
On the conference call, Parker was asked about, and he confirmed, his donation of $2,300 to the to Obama campaign. Biden communications director Ricki Seidman later added that Parker was identified for the purposes of the call through the campaign's legal counsel. "We did no screening of Dr. Parker before contacting him about these records, other than for his medical expertise," she said. "As anyone can look at by Googling his record, he is a very highly-respected doctor in the Washington area."
Biden spokesman David Wade said that Eisold does not typically speak to reporters. He has been Biden's physician since his appointment as the Senate's attending physician in the mid-90s.
Parker said that in his conversation with Eisold, "he made it fairly clear to me that Senator Biden was doing beautifully." Wade reports that Biden "is in terrific health and he's full of unbridled energy." Though he does not keep up the kind of routine that his ticketmate does, Biden works out about three days a week on the trail, "and his wife and family always make sure he drinks plenty of water and eats right."
"After a health scare over twenty years ago, he's been blessed with excellent health," Wade said.
(NBC/NJ's MIKE MEMOLI)
THE PROBLEM LIST:
PROBLEM ONSET STATUS
* H/O Cerebral Aneurysm 2/88 Surgical clipping
* Childhood asthma Child No current problems
* Lumbar DDD 1966 Asymptomatic
* R. Shoulder Dislocation 1960 No sequelae
* Hyperlipidemia Adult Diet/exercise/Zocor
* Partial occlusion of L. ext jugular vein 1988 Stable post-op complication related to Swan-Ganz
* H/o DVT/PE 1988 Post-op complication. Greenfield filter in IVC
* Elevated PSA 6/03 Benign biopsy
* Ext. Hemorrhoids Adult Asymptomatic
* Chronic Sinusitis 1999 Flonase/Claritin-D QD Ceftin PRN, S/p FESS
* Lone Atrial Fibrillation 7/06 Normal echo; daily ASA
* Mild BHFHL Adult No significant functional impairment
* BPH 4/06 Flomax
