Biden’s Physician Says He Is ‘Fit for Duty’ After Bodily and Neurological Examination

President Biden on Wednesday was declared “fit for duty” by his longtime physician, who stated that the president had undergone an “extremely detailed” neurological examination that didn’t flip up proof of stroke, neurological problems or Parkinson’s illness.

In a abstract of Mr. Biden’s third presidential bodily at Walter Reed Nationwide Navy Medical Middle, Dr. Kevin O’Connor didn’t say whether or not the examination contained widespread exams for assessing cognitive decline or detecting indicators of dementia which might be typically really useful for older adults.

Dr. O’Connor stated {that a} workforce of docs, together with a neurologist, two orthopedists and a bodily therapist, examined the president, whom Dr. O’Connor described as an “active 81-year-old white male.” Earlier within the day, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White Home press secretary, declined to present specifics concerning the exams Mr. Biden had undergone, however stated that the president “doesn’t need” a cognitive examination.

Mr. Biden, the oldest president within the nation’s historical past, is dealing with widespread issues over his age as he campaigns for a second time period. Earlier this month, he was described in a special counsel report as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — a characterization the president vehemently opposed.

On Wednesday, Mr. Biden answered questions concerning the outcomes of his examination with a joke.

“They think I look too young,” he advised reporters throughout a spherical desk with legislation enforcement officers on the White Home. “There is nothing different than last year,” he stated, including that “everything’s great.”

The abstract launched by Dr. O’Connor mirrored a prolonged and detailed examination. However the president, his advisers and a workforce of 20 physicians in the end declined to supply detailed details about Mr. Biden’s cognitive talents. Medical doctors use their discretion in offering evaluation exams, and never all docs carry out them. Physicians typically use conversations with sufferers as a screening system.

“For the physician who interacts with a patient on a regular basis, it is perfectly valid for the physician to say, ‘I can assess the mental status on a daily basis,’” Dr. Thomas Wisniewski, the director of the Middle for Cognitive Neurology at NYU Langone Well being, stated in a phone interview. “But not if they see each other once a year.”

Dr. O’Connor is a retired U.S. Military colonel who started serving as a physician on the White Home in 2006, when President George W. Bush was in workplace. He was Mr. Biden’s doctor when Mr. Biden was serving as vice chairman, and the president introduced him again to the White Home in 2021.

In his abstract, Dr. O’Connor stated that the examination of Mr. Biden had raised “no new concerns,” however he provided updates on a number of medical circumstances he had famous in previous stories. Final 12 months, Mr. Biden had a cancerous lesion faraway from his chest throughout his bodily; on Wednesday, Dr. O’Connor famous that no additional therapy of that lesion was required.

Mr. Biden has obstructive sleep apnea, a typical sleeping dysfunction during which an individual’s airways turn out to be blocked. Dr. O’Connor famous that the affected person had been “remarkably committed to sticking with therapy” and sleeps practically each evening with a machine that helps his airways clear.

Mr. Biden has additionally turn out to be noticeably slower in his actions in current months, strolling stiffly as he makes his method to the rostrum at appearances and taking the quick stairs immediately into the stomach of Air Drive One, moderately than the taller stairs to the aircraft’s higher door. Dr. O’Connor famous “moderate to severe spondylosis,” or degeneration of the spinal disks, which he attributed to age-related “wear and tear” on the president’s backbone. The physician additionally famous that Mr. Biden has peripheral neuropathy, a situation outlined by nerve harm, ache and stiffening within the ft.

Final 12 months, Dr. O’Connor stated the stiffness in Mr. Biden’s gait was the results of “significant spinal arthritis, mild post-fracture foot arthritis and a mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet,” for which the president undergoes bodily remedy to keep up flexibility.

Mr. Biden’s gait is considerably halting, a characteristic that multiple people close to the White House say is partly due to his refusal to put on an orthopedic boot after sustaining a hairline fracture in his foot earlier than taking workplace.

This 12 months, Dr. Connor stated, a spinal examination confirmed a “mildly decreased range of motion.” Mr. Biden famous discomfort in his left hip, which Dr. O’Connor attributed to “mild arthritic changes.” The president’s hip ache is “most certainly also contributing to his stiffened gait,” and Dr. O’Connor stated that Mr. Biden is present process bodily remedy and that he performs an intensive stretching program 4 to 5 instances every week.

Mr. Biden weighs 178 kilos with a physique mass index of 24.1, in response to the White Home letter — the identical as final 12 months. His blood stress was listed as 132/78 with a pulse of 64. Dr. O’Connor famous a number of areas of lentigo, or liver spots, and that Mr. Biden had “mildly decreased” cold and warm sensations in his ft. Mr. Biden takes apixaban, an anticoagulant remedy that reduces the danger of blood clotting however may cause individuals to bleed and bruise simply.

The president had a complete ldl cholesterol stage of 122. His excessive density lipoprotein stage was 45 and his low density lipoprotein stage was 68.

Polling exhibits {that a} majority of People have issues about Mr. Biden’s age and talent to run for a second time period. And Mr. Biden has made unforced errors at occasions, together with recalling interactions with foreign leaders who would have been lifeless on the time these interactions happened.

Because the presidential election heats up, the president has tried in current days to assuage issues over his age by reframing the deal with his doubtless Republican challenger, former President Donald J. Trump, who’s 4 years youthful and who makes a quantity ofexaggerated or outright false claims at his public appearances.

“You got to take a look at the other guy,” Mr. Biden said throughout an look this week on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”

“He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name,” he added, referring to a video during which Mr. Trump, 77, appeared to overlook the title of his spouse, Melania.

Mr. Biden, Dr. O’Connor famous on Wednesday, has been “happily married for 46 years,” and works out a minimum of 5 days every week.

Zach Montague contributed reporting.