Sanders says he won’t release full medical records

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday he will not release any more medical records during his presidential bid, arguing he’s already released sufficient information to quell concerns about his health.

Sanders, the current front-runner for the Democratic nomination, has faced questions about his health since he suffered a heart attack in October. He insisted at a CNN town hall Tuesday night that the release of three letters from his doctors at the end of December declaring him healthy were sufficient disclosures.

“We have released, I think … quite as much as any other candidate has. We released two rather detailed letters from cardiologists and we released a letter that came from the head of the U.S. Congress medical group, the physicians there. So I think we have released a detailed report, and I’m comfortable with what we have done,” he said. 

“If you think I’m not in good health come on out with me on the campaign trail and I’ll let you introduce me to the three or four rallies a day that we do,” he added.

When pressed on if he would disclose any further information, Sanders responded, “I don’t think we will, no.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had a heart attack last year, tells @andersoncooper that he doesn’t think he will release any more medical records than he already has. #cnntownhall https://t.co/DcVxz2JQLM pic.twitter.com/mObVIbJHFO

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 19, 2020

Sanders’s allies have frequently defended the 78-year-old lawmaker from those questioning whether he is healthy enough to serve as president, with supporters often pointing to the frenetic pace of his campaign and the letters he released last year.

“You are in good health currently and you have been engaging vigorously in the rigors of your campaign, travel and other scheduled activities without any limitation,” Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress who has served as Sanders’s primary physician for the past 29 years, wrote in one of the letters.

The campaign also released additional medical information about Sanders beyond his heart health, saying that in the past he has been treated for “gout, hypercholesterolemia, diverticulitis, hypothyroidism, laryngitis secondary to esophageal reflux, lumbar strain, and complete removal of superficial skin lesions.”

According to materials released by his campaign, Sanders has taken atorvastatin, aspirin, clopidogrel, levothyroxine and lisinopril on a daily basis, and has in the past been treated for a cyst on his vocal cord and two hernias.