WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden appears in very good health, with some of the routine issues of aging, but there's no evidence that he has had a brain scan to rule out completely another aneurysm like the one that required emergency lifesaving surgery 20 years ago.
The Democratic vice presidential candidate's medical records, released to reporters today, show no reason for concern about another aneurysm: He has no symptoms, seems to have healthy heart arteries and is active.
Like many other 65-year-old men, Biden does have an enlarged prostate but no sign of prostate cancer. He takes the statin drug Zocor to keep his cholesterol in the healthy range, and his blood pressure is a good 120 over 78.
However, the Delaware senator did have an episode of an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation in July 2006, and possibly a second that corrected on its own. A full cardiac exam that July and another four months later showed no cardiovascular disease.
His doctor implied then that subsisting on little but coffee the day the first heart fluttering struck may have been the cause, and urged less caffeine, more exercise and an aspirin a day. Biden doesn't appear to have had another heart exam since.
The health of presidential and vice presidential candidates is an issue every election but it's taking on heightened importance this year largely because of questions surrounding the well-being of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, a three-time melanoma survivor who at age 72 would be the nation's oldest elected president.
McCain allowed reporters to view more than 1,000 pages of his own medical records in the spring. Democrat Barack Obama did not release actual records, though his personal physician wrote a letter attesting to the 47-year-old's good health. GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, 44, has not disclosed any information.
The Democratic ticket released 49 pages of Biden's medical records, but crucial information was missing, including what if any recent exams Biden has undergone to ensure no further aneurysms. The campaign could not answer if he had ever undergone such a scan. And they provided a Washington physician, Dr. Matthew Parker, to interpret the records for reporters. He didn't know that information either, and had never treated Biden but has donated to the Obama campaign. The Delaware senator is treated by the Capitol physician who never does media interviews.
