NEW YORK – It's Sept. 26, and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are at Hofstra University on Long Island in front of a live television audience, set to square off for the first of three presidential debates.

As moderator Lester Holt of NBC introduces Clinton, a camera zooms in on the Democratic Party presidential nominee. Suddenly, Clinton collapses, sending her medical handlers rushing to her side. Out cold, Clinton is removed from the stage on a gurney in front of the stunned Hofstra audience and tens of millions of viewers at home.

That's the nightmare scenario that, according to high-level Democrat power brokers on Wall Street and in New York City law firms and unions speaking to WND on condition their names be withheld, is causing panic among top party operatives and donors.

The key question is this: What assurance can the Clinton campaign give to the party that the health of its candidate won't continue to be an issue?

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The top Democratic Party politicos in New York City have decided they can no longer rely on a two-page report of good health put out by the campaign, insisting it's time to replace Clinton's current medical team with A-list professionals, which are readily available in New York City.

If top medical experts decide it's likely Clinton will suffer another fainting spell, regardless of the treatment she is given, the mood among New York Democrats is that now is the time to find a replacement.

Concerns about Clinton's health, including recent coughing fits – reported for months in alternative media – have been dismissed by the campaign and establishment media as "conspiracies."

But the disastrous videos of Hillary’s collapse as she stepped into her van while making an early departure from Sunday's 9/11 memorial have gone viral, and top Democratic politicos have decided it is time to stop taking calls from worried donors and start talking turkey with the Clinton campaign, according to the sources.

Clinton’s campaign later admitted to media she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days before the incident Sunday. Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon said Monday the campaign was at fault for delaying the announcement that Clinton had pneumonia and plans to release additional medical records this week.

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Democrat panic

At least eight Democrats or establishment media figures, some citing multiple party members, have raised the specter of replacing Clinton or questioned the campaign's handling of her health issues:

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Don Fowler said President Obama and the party’s congressional leaders should immediately come up with a process to identify a potential successor for Clinton if a health emergency forces her out of the race, reported Politico. "Now is the time for all good political leaders to come to the aid of their party," said Fowler, who led the DNC for two years during Bill Clinton’s presidency. "I think the plan should be developed by 6 o’clock this afternoon." Democrat donor and fundraiser Bill Bartmann fielded calls Sunday from about half-a-dozen worried Democrats who are waiting to see how everything plays out, Reuters reported. Cokie Roberts confirmed in an NPR report the nervous whispers of Democratic Party leaders that Hillary Clinton may have to bow out because of her health, Mediaite reported. "People are angry at the lack of transparency," Roberts said on "Morning Edition." "It was hours before the pneumonia diagnosis was revealed, after seeing this incredibly damaging video of her being helped and stumbling into a van. And look, there’s a reason why the campaign’s not transparent. Obviously, it gives Trump ammunition." In a tweet, NBC's David Schuster wrote: "DNC delegate: If @HillaryClinton withdraws, every indication now committee will vote to replace with Biden. @BernieSanders team scrambling." Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, is "ready to become the president" if necessary, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod on Monday criticized Clinton's lack of transparency in a tweet: "Antibiotics can take care of pneumonia. What's the cure for an unhealthy penchant for privacy that repeatedly creates unnecessary problems?" CNN media reporter Brian Stelter wrote: "I don't understand why Clinton aides weren't telling reporters at 10:30am: 'pneumonia.'" Chuck Todd, the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," said: "Of course they should have disclosed this. This isn't a cold."

Even Clinton's aides at the State Department, more than three years ago, expressed concern about her health.

In an email exchange Jan. 26, 2013, Huma Abedin and Monica Hanley said it was "very important" to go over phone calls with Clinton because the secretary of state was "often confused."

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'Danger of brain hemorrhage'

As WND has reported, the list of known ailments justifies concern that she might have some kind of brain damage.

She had a concussion serious enough to have required wearing eyeglasses fitted with Fresnel prisms, which typically are prescribed to treat double vision caused by nerve damage as a result of head trauma. She also had a rare Cerebrial Venous Sinus Thrombosis blood clot in the sinus behind the ear, between her skull and the brain, most likely resulting from the concussion.

In addition, she is known to have a chronic hypothyroid condition for which she is taking Armour Thyroid, as WND previously reported, a natural remedy made from desiccated pig glands. To prevent clots, as WND reported, she is taking Coumadin, otherwise known as Warfarin, an old but commonly prescribed blood-thinning medication originally developed as a rat poison.

WND also reported the medication Clinton has taken since 1998 to deal with her blood-clotting problems may have side effects such as blurred vision and confusion, both of which she has experienced. And a California physician warned Coumadin could be more life threatening to her than the possibility of a recurring blood clot.

The Atlanta-based Alliance for Natural Health warns in a bulletin, titled "Hillary Clinton Prescribed a Dangerous Blood-Thinner," that Coumadin has a long list of nasty side effects. The medical literature warns that Coumadin can cause excessive bleeding that can turn even a minor injury into a life-threatening event. In 2008, a study in the American Academy of Neurology journal showed Warfarin can increase the danger of excessive internal bleeding in the brain, causing a stroke.

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