Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign says it still plans to release the 78-year-old Vermont senator’s health records along with a letter from his doctor by the end of December.
Sanders pledged to make his medical history public on Oct. 24, a week after returning to the campaign trail after suffering a heart attack.
“I want to make it comprehensive,” Sanders told the Associated Press at the time. “The answer is I will, probably by the end of the year.”
Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ campaign manager, later added to reporters that Sanders’ health records would include a letter from his doctor that would show he had made a full recovery from his heart attack earlier that month.
With the Vermont independent approaching 80 and his recent heart issues, presidential candidates’ age and health have taken on added significance in the race for 2020.
In addition to Sanders, three other Democratic presidential nominees are in their 70s. Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, and former Vice President Joe Biden are both 77, while Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is 70. President Donald Trump is currently 73 years old.
Warren, on Dec. 6, became the first of the candidates in their 70s to release a doctor’s report, which said the senator is in “excellent health.”
Warren’s physician wrote that the Massachusetts senator’s only known medical condition is an underactive thyroid, which she treats with medication, the Associated Press reported.
Bloomberg, who joined the presidential race in late November, released a letter from his doctor on Dec. 12 that proclaimed the 77-year-old is in “outstanding health” while also noting specific conditions he has been treated for in the past, according to the Associated Press.
Bloomberg takes medication to control his cholesterol, has had “small skin cancers” removed and receives treatment for arthritis and heartburn. In 2000, the billionaire former mayor had a stent inserted to unclog a coronary artery — the same procedure Sanders had in October.
Biden released a report from his doctor Tuesday that notes the former vice president is in good health.
The report includes that Biden does not drink alcohol or smoke tobacco products and that he exercises five days a week. The former vice president is receiving treatment for an irregular heart rhythm and hyperlipidemia — a high concentration of fats in the blood.
While Sanders is yet to make his medical history public, last presidential election cycle, the Vermont senator released a letter from his doctor in late January 2016, days before the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Dr. Brian Monahan, Sanders’ attending physician at the Capitol, wrote the Vermont senator was in good health but has had a variety of medical conditions over the years, including a hernia surgery in 2015 as well as the removal of “superficial skin tumors” and a cyst from his vocal cords, according to the Washington Post.
Monahan also reported that Sanders has had gout — a form of arthritis — a “mild” case of high cholesterol, diverticulitis — inflammation of the digestive tract — an underactive thyroid condition, and lower back issues.
In October, Sanders said that besides his recent hospitalization, his health has stayed consistent with the 2016 doctor’s report.“Nothing much has changed except that I had a heart attack,” Sanders told the Associated Press. “So, I don’t think it’ll be all too revelatory.”