Docs: Romney, Ryan in good health

The GOP presidential ticket is physically fit for office, according to the candidates’ physicians.

In letters released Friday, doctors for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan noted heart problems in their family histories, but described the men’s health as “excellent.”

Romney, 65, received his latest physical in August, where his resting heart clocked in at 40 — a rate usually seen in well conditioned athletes.

{mosads}His doctor attributed the measurement to Romney’s “past intensive exercise with regular running.”

Ryan, 42, is a fan of the intense P90X workouts and had a resting heart rate of 59 in December 2011, according to his doctor.

The Wisconsin congressman occasionally uses an inhaler for “airway hypersensitivity,” and has a family history of early onset heart disease — the condition that killed his father when Ryan was 16 — according to his letter.

Both Romney and Ryan abstain from smoking and concentrated sweets. Romney, as a Mormon, also does not consume alcohol.

The former Massachusetts governor takes low dose aspirin and 10 milligrams of heart medication Lipitor every day.

Like 10 percent of the population, Romney is also allergic to penicillin, meaning he cannot use certain antibiotics. The letter also reveals Romney’s past surgeries: an 1965 appendectomy, a 1985 back lipoma excision, and a 1987 right hand injury laceration suture repair.

President Obama was also declared in excellent health during a physical last year, where he was declared to have quit smoking and improved his cholesterol.
 
Overall, Romney and Obama are fairly comparable in their measurements, with Romney at 6 feet 1.5 inches tall and 184 pounds; and Obama at 6 feet 1 inches tall and 181.3 pounds; Ryan, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs in at 163 pounds.

Romney “appears years younger than his age,” his doctor wrote, and “takes excellent care of his personal physician health.”

Dr. Randall D. Gaz of Massachusetts General Hospital also issued an implicit endorsement of his patient of 20-plus years, adding there are no health problems that should hinder Romney as “the next President of the United States.” 

— This story was last updated at 4:13 p.m.