CHICAGO — Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar is “in very good health,” according to a medical report the Minnesota senator’s campaign released days after she said during a debate over Bernie Sanders’ health records that “you should release your records from your physical.”
Klobuchar, who is trailing Sanders and most of her other rivals ahead of Tuesday night’s debate in South Carolina, released a four-page report late Monday based on a January routine physical and medical records.
Sanders, who won Saturday’s Nevada caucuses convincingly, was asked during last week’s debate in Las Vegas about his pledge to release “comprehensive” medical records after he suffered a heart attack on the campaign trail last fall. His campaign released letters on New Year’s Eve from three doctors who attested to his health, but the Vermont senator has faced pressure to put out more detailed information. He said last week he believes he has released enough information and doesn’t plan to put out more.
Klobuchar responded on the debate stage that “I believe in transparency,” adding that she had a physical that “came out well.” But she hadn’t put out the report, which was dated Jan. 27.
The report shows Klobuchar has mild high cholesterol, with the total cholesterol measuring 228 on her latest test, above the normal threshold of 200, and so-called “bad” or LDL cholesterol at 145; optimal is less than 100. But her doctors, using an American Heart Association tool, measured her risk of heart disease as far too low for cholesterol medication. That assessment factors that she doesn’t smoke and has “excellent” blood pressure, although the exact level wasn’t released.
Klobuchar also has a defect in one of her heart valves, known as mitral valve prolapse, that makes the valve’s leaflets not close tightly. She has no symptoms, like most people with mitral valve prolapse. The condition usually needs no care other than monitoring by a noninvasive test called an echocardiogram. The report says Klobuchar’s cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic recommended she be re-checked in three to five years, by 2022.
The report says Klobuchar has undergone recommended screenings for colon and cervical cancer, diabetes and thyroid disease, and had a normal breast exam during her check-up — although it doesn’t specifically mention a mammogram.
She underwent a hip replacement and later revision surgery for hip dysplasia in 2006, and takes ibuprofen as needed for occasional hip pain.
The report is from Dr. Jennifer McKeand, an obstetrician-gynecologist who took over Klobuchar’s primary care when a partner in that practice retired. It’s common for women to use OB/GYNs for their primary care.
Tuesday night’s debate in Charleston is the last before South Carolina holds its primary on Saturday and 14 states vote in the Super Tuesday contests on March 3.
