BETHESDA: Doctors declared U.S. President Joe Biden, 80, healthy and "fit for duty" on Thursday after a physical examination that included removing a lesion from his chest and declaring him free of symptoms of long COVID after his bout last year with the virus.
"The president remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations," White House physician Kevin O'Connor said in a summary of the health exam.
The exam was closely watched as Biden prepares for his expected run for a second term in 2024. The summary said Biden did not have any "long COVID" symptoms and that his stiff gait has not worsened since his last exam in November 2021.
Biden said his physical went well. "Everything really went well... Thank God for small favors," he told NBC News.
Biden's three-hour session with doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021.
Biden takes the statin Crestor to keep his cholesterol levels low, an anti-coagulant in response to atrial fibrillation that remains asymptomatic and medication to treaty seasonal allergies and acid reflux, the summary said.
Several small skin growths were moved from his face and head using liquid nitrogen and "one small lesion on the president's chest was excised today and sent for traditional biopsy," O'Connor said. Results are pending.
The summary found that Biden's weight had dropped six pounds, from 184 pounds in 2021 to 178. His body mass index was at 24.1 compared to 25.0 in 2021, and his blood pressure was at 126/78 compared to 120/70 in 2021.
The summary made no mention of whether Biden underwent any cognitive tests sometimes given to people of his age.
O'Connor said Biden's back stiffness is a result of significant spinal arthritis.
"The president's gait remains stiff, but has not worsened since last year," he said.
Biden, the oldest person ever to serve as U.S. president, has waved off questions about his age, but polls indicate voters have concerns about his ability to serve four more years if he wins in 2024.
Asked about the concerns over Biden's age, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: "This is a president that works day in and day out, you know, in a grueling fashion with a grueling schedule, and delivers."
About three-quarters of Americans - including more than half of Democrats and the vast majority of Republicans - say Biden is too old to work in government, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Feb. 6 to 13. Most Democratic respondents said the president remains mentally sharp but about half of them said he cannot handle the physical toll of the presidency.
Biden does not drink alcohol or smoke tobacco and works out five times a week, the physical noted.
Biden would be 86 by the end of a prospective second term, making him 13 years older than the average life expectancy of an American male, according to 2020 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.
Biden said during a PBS interview last week that any Americans concerned about his age should "watch me" perform the duties of the presidency.
First lady Jill Biden, 71, last month had cancerous skin lesions removed.
Reuters
Fri Feb 17 2023
Biden takes the statin Crestor to keep his cholesterol levels low, an anti-coagulant in response to atrial fibrillation that remains asymptomatic and medication to treaty seasonal allergies and acid reflux, the summary said. - AP/Filepic
Usaha pujuk Pan-gon tidak berhasil - Yusoff Mahadi
FAM pernah berusaha memujuk Kim Pan-gon untuk terus mengemudi skuad Harimau Malaya hingga kontraknya tamat secara rasmi pada akhir tahun depan.
Kaspersky tinggalkan pasaran AS bermula 20 Julai ini
Kaspersky mengesahkan kurang 50 pekerja akan terkesan, dan mereka akan diberikan pampasan susulan penutupan syarikat tersebut.
Sultan Selangor jalani pemeriksaan kesihatan untuk pembedahan katarak mata
Sultan Selangor Sultan kini berada di hospital untuk rawatan pemeriksaan kesihatan bagi menjalani prosedur pembedahan katarak mata.
Enam MP kekal : Tak adil salahkan Speaker - Gobind
Mengenai keputusan mengekalkan enam kerusi Parlimen bekas ahli Bersatu, Gobind Singh Deo berkata tidak adil untuk salahkan Speaker buat keputusan yang diperuntukkan undang-undang.
Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar
Polis menahan dua lelaki dan merampas dua pucuk pistol serta pelbagai jenis dadah dalam dua tangkapan di Taman Lam Foong, di Alor Setar.
Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB
Beliau berkata tahap pertempuran dan kemusnahan yang melampau di Gaza tidak dapat difahami dan tidak boleh dimaafkan.
Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Muhyiddin memberitahu bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary.
Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas
Gen HNF4A (Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4 Alpha) didapati akan berhenti berfungsi pada tubuh pesakit kanser pankreas.
Pantau Agenda Reformasi: Potensi dan cabaran percambahan e-Sukan di Malaysia
Pengerusi Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) Negeri Selangor
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
Jualan kereta di Malaysia diunjur cecah 765,000 unit
Persatuan Automotif Malaysia (MAA) melakukan semakan semula berkaitan sasaran jumlah keseluruhan industri (TIV) kepada 765,000 unit berbanding unjuran awal 740,000 unit untuk 2024. Semakan dibuat disokong oleh persekitaran ekonomi yang positif dan jumlah tempatan tertunggak yang masih berada pada tahap yang baik
Biden seru redakan retorik politik di AS selepas cubaan bunuh Trump
Sudah tiba masanya untuk meredakan retorik politik di Amerika Syarikat (AS), kata Presiden Joe Biden semasa ucapan mengenai cubaan membunuh bekas Presiden Donald Trump.
Biden gesa siasatan bebas berhubung insiden tembakan Trump
Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS) Joe Biden menyeru agar rakyat negara itu bersatu susulan cubaan membunuh terhadap Donald Trump.
Trump ditembak: 'Tindakan tidak bermoral jika hanya gimik' - Penganalisis
Pakar geopolitik Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Awang Dzul-Hashriq Dharfizi, tidak percaya serangan tembakan terhadap Donald Trump adalah gimik.
Biden kecam serangan ke atas Trump
Tegas beliau, tiada ruang untuk keganasan di negara itu dan beliau mahu semua pihak mengecam insiden tersebut.
Trump ditembak ketika kempen
Calon presiden Republikan itu dilihat mengangkat penumbuk ketika diiringi ke kenderaan oleh Perkhidmatan Rahsia negara.
'Saya calon paling layak bertanding jawatan presiden' - Biden
Biden membuat kenyataan itu sebagai respons terhadap desakan yang semakin meningkat, menggesa beliau menarik diri.
Biden tersilap perkenal Zelenskyy sebagai Putin pada sidang kemuncak NATO
Kesilapan Presiden Biden menjelang sidang akhbar yang ditunggu-tunggu boleh menentukan nasibnya dalam pilihan raya.
George Clooney gesa Biden tarik diri daripada pilihan raya
Pengumpul dana Demokrat terkemuka Clooney ikut jejak Nancy Pelosi yang mempersoal apakah perlu Biden teruskan hasrat lawan Donald Trump.
Biden komited tamatkan penggal kedua sekiranya menang - Rumah Putih
Biden berdepan desakan untuk menarik balik pencalonannya sejak prestasi buruknya menentang Trump dalam debat presiden pertama mereka pada 27 Jun.
Trump cabar Biden sertai debat tanpa moderator
Donald Trump dakwa, Demokrat sedang mengalami "keruntuhan besar-besaran" dan cabar Joe Biden untuk tampil dalam satu lagi sesi debat.