On Sunday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton abruptly left the 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City because, as her campaign acknowledged some time later in the day, she was suffering from pneumonia and became dehydrated and felt “overheated.”
Her departure and the video of her seeming to struggle to stand upright and get into a van served to spark new reports of health concerns the candidate has dismissed and even made fun of on late-night TV.
Dr. Lisa Bardack, Clinton's physician, said Clinton was doing better about an hour and a half after the Sunday incident during which time it’s believed she went to her daughter Chelsea’s apartment, near where the ceremony was being held.
Clinton was prescribed antibiotics and has been "advised to rest and modify her schedule,” Bardack said in a statement.
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The issue of Clinton’s health had been relegated to the stuff of conspiracy theories by Clinton and her surrogates, but Sunday’s event – despite the fact her doctor says pneumonia and dehydration are to blame – may make it harder for her to answer critics who say she suffers lingering effects from a concussion in 2012, or from some other illness.
Last year, Clinton's physician released a letter outlining her health issues. Here’s information on the part of Clinton’s medical history that her campaign and her doctor have release.
1998 – Clinton develops a blood clot in her leg and is put on a blood-thinning medication called Lovenox, a short-acting blood thinner.
2009 – Secretary of State Clinton falls and fractures her elbow while walking to her car at the State Department. She undergoes two hours of surgery.
2012 – Clinton fainted at her home in New York, fell and hit her head, causing a concussion.
2012 – Doctors discover a blood clot in Clinton's brain. According to doctors, "Mrs. Clinton's blood clot formed in a large vein along the side of her head, behind her right ear, between the brain and the skull." She takes a month-long leave of absence from her job as secretary of state. She begins taking Coumadin, a blood thinner.
2013 – Clinton testifies in front of a Senate committee about the attack on the Americans in Benghazi. During the testimony, she is wearing special glasses that help with double vision. A spokesman for Clinton acknowledged that she was wearing the glasses as a result of the fall and concussion she suffered a month earlier. Clinton's doctor, Lisa Bardack, said testing a year after the fall showed that there was a "complete resolution" of the concussion's effects.
2016 – Clinton has had coughing fits during the past few years, the latest last week while giving a speech – prior to her diagnosis of pneumonia. After about two minutes of coughing, Clinton joked that she was allergic to what Donald Trump has to say. Coughing is a symptom of seasonal allergies and pnuemonia.
2016 – Clinton is diagnosed with pneumonia. The diagnosis becomes known after a video emerges of what appears to be a stumble as she begins to get into a vehicle. Several people help her into the van.
According to Bardack, Clinton has seasonal allergies and hypothyroidism – a condition in which the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormone. She continues to take Coumadin in addition to Armour Thyroid, a thyroid hormone replacement, antihistamines and vitamin B12.
Other details from Bardack's 2015 letter included:
• Clinton's blood pressure was 100 over 65. Her total cholesterol was 195; her LDL or "bad" cholesterol was 118, and her HDL or "good" cholesterol was 64 - all within healthy levels and not signaling the need for any medications.
• She had full cardiac testing, including an ultrasound exam of arteries in her neck, and all was well.
• Clinton has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a common condition in women older than 60, in which the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough of certain important hormones.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Monday he will be releasing his own medical report this week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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