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| Doctor Zebra > Presidential health > List of Presidents > Richard Nixon | [Text Version] |
| The Health and Medical History of President | ||||||||
Richard Nixon |
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| President #37. |
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| Timeline: | |<== 1776 | |||||||
Maladies = 1960 debate · phlebitis · psychology · eye blinking · clot and pulmonary embolism · chronically ill · phenytoin use? · stroke ·· Odds & Ends ·· Resources |
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| Maladies and Conditions | [Top] |
   1960 debate |
It's widely acknowledged that Nixon lost the 1960 presidential election to John Kennedy because of his physical appearance during a television debate with JFK. According to Don Hewett, who produced the televised debate, Nixon looked bad that day on television for several reasons: (1) Nixon had a staphylococcal infection at the time, (2) Nixon "smacked his knee" in the studio and was in pain, (3) After Kennedy declined to have make-up applied, Nixon declined, too, fearing the consequences if it became known that he had accepted make-up when Kennedy had not. To cover his five o'clock shadow, Nixon instead had one of his people smear a product of dubious quality, known as "Shave Stick," on his face [1]. [More] |
 phlebitis |
Episode of phlebitis in left leg during a trip to Japan in 1965 [5]. |
 psychology |
Psychological problems while president, in wake of Watergate scandal [7] It is widely believed that Nixon ordered US military forces to DEFCON 3 during the Arab-Israeli war of 1973 to warn the Soviet Union that American vital interests were at stake. In fact, the National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, gave the order alone (which included launch of nuclear-armed B-52 bombers to airborne holding points). Nixon was indisposed, having "sufferred something like a nervous breakdown, telling Kissinger that he was being attacked [by his critics in the worsening Watergate scandal] 'because of their desire to kill the President. And they may succeed. I may physically die.'" [6a] |
 eye blinking |
"Furious [eye] blinking" was exhibited by Nixon during his speech resigning the Presidency. Mentally unpleasant or uncomfortable situations are known to increase blink rate. Psychologist Joseph Tecce of Boston College has called this the "Nixon effect" precisely because of Nixon's speech [2]. Dr. Zebra also remembers the sweat on Nixon's upper lip during the speech. A commentator at the time said it was a chronic problem for Nixon, but in this case no attempt was made to disguise it. |
 clot and pulmonary embolism |
In September 1974 (the month after leaving the Presidency and returning to California), developed left leg enlargement, tenderness in the left calf and thigh, and episodic shortness of breath. Was admitted to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, where he was anti-coagulated with heparin, and where lung scans "showed evidence of pulmonary embolism in the right lung." He was discharged on coumadin. [5] On October 23, he had groin pain and persistent left leg enlargement. He was re-admitted to the hospital. A retrograde venogram showed a clot extending into the left iliac vein. On October 29 Dr. Eldon Hickman performed a one-hour operation, clipping the vein above the clot. [5] The remainder of the hospital course was difficult. About six hours post-operatively, Nixon stood up to urinate and fainted. Fearing a bleed, his anti-coagulation was stopped and reversed (with vitamin K) and he was given three units of packed red cells. Platelets and more red cells were given in the days to come. Nixon developed a large hematoma in the flank, and a left pleural effusion (felt secondary to the bleed). [5] Comment: Thus, Nixon had the Grey Turner sign of retroperitoneal hemorrhage. When discharged on November 14, he had lost 15 pounds, was depressed, and tired. [5] |
  chronically ill |
In November 1974, i.e. very soon after the complicated hospital admission described above, there was a possibility Nixon would have to testify in court in Washington. The judge sent three physicians to evaluate whether this was medically reasonable. [5] On Nov. 25, the physicians found Nixon unsteady on his feet, quiet, subdued, and appearing chronically ill. Nixon told "how awful the intravenous Heparin therapy" had been in the hospital. He took one or two short walks each day, still had pain in his leg, had difficulty concentrating, had noticed a change in personality, had a poor appetite, and was sleeping 12 hours a day (never sleeping more than 7 previously). The physicians examined him (see [5] for findings). The physicians concluded that Nixon could clearly not travel, and could not even give a deposition at his home for another 6 weeks. [5] |
 phenytoin use? |
For many years, and at great expense, financier Jack Dreyfus has been touting the the anti-seizure drug phenytoin for many indications besides seizures. "Dreyfus recently made news when a biography of Richard M. Nixon reported that the financier gave the drug to Nixon. The Nixon family disputed the report." [4] |
  stroke |
hemorrhagic or thrombotic? |
| Odds & Ends | [Top] |
| Resources | [Top] |
| Alternate index terms: Medical history of President Nixon, Medical history of President Richard M. Nixon, Medical history of President Richard Milhous Nixon, Medical history of Dick Nixon. | [Top] |
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