Doctor’s letter released by campaign as Clinton recovers from pneumonia, which caused her to lose her footing on Sunday at 9/11 memorial ceremony

Hillary Clinton is in “excellent mental condition”, her doctor said in a letter released on Wednesday by the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign, as focus on her health continues to escalate as she recuperates from pneumonia.



“She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States,” physician Lisa Bardack wrote in the letter, which also gave new medical information.

Bardack added that Clinton was “recovering well with antibiotics”, namely Levaquin, which she was advised to take to treat the pneumonia for 10 days.

“My overall impression is that Mrs Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia.”



Clinton’s health became an issue on Sunday when she abruptly left a 9/11 memorial ceremony at Ground Zero in New York. Video filmed by a passerby subsequently emerged showing her losing her footing as she got into her waiting car.



It was only then that her campaign confirmed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday, prompting aides to acknowledge they had mishandled communication on the subject.



Clinton was forced to take a break from the campaign trail this week, canceling scheduled trips to California and Nevada. She is expected to return to the stump with a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday.

The records released on Wednesday also note that Clinton, who is 68, has suffered from allergy flare-ups this year, “a typical pattern for most of her life”.

She underwent a CT brain scan in March after a sinus and ear infection, but no abnormalities were found. She developed sinusitis (an inflammation of the sinuses) and an ear infection in January and was treated with antibiotics and steroids.



“The remainder of her complete physical exam was normal and she is in excellent mental condition,” Bardack wrote.



Clinton’s health and wellbeing have long been at the center of an alt-right conspiracy that she became seriously ill following a fall and concussion in 2012, with videos of Clinton falsely spliced together to make her condition look more serious. Republican nominee Donald Trump and surrogates such as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani have seized on the conspiracies, declaring last month that Clinton “lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on Isis”.

Clinton takes the blood thinner Coumadin and thyroid medication, according to the new releases. But the blood clot she sustained four years ago was declared completely resolved in a two-page letter Clinton released from her personal physician last June, stating that she was “in excellent physical condition”.

Trump, by contrast, released a four-paragraph letter from his doctor in December that mostly engaged in hyperbole and declared him as the “healthiest individual ever elected” if successful in his pursuit of the White House. It did not, however, mention the foot problems that Trump claims excused him from the Vietnam war draft.



Trump, who has thus far declined to release further medical information or his tax records, has since announced he would discuss his health in an appearance with Dr Oz. Trump, who is 70, will sit down with the television show host, who has long received flak from the medical community for plugging medical products with little scientific value, on Thursday. A clip released on Tuesday showed him handing over two letters to the TV doctor, Mehmet Oz.

Following the release of her health records, Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook said it was fair to say that more is now known about Hillary Clinton “than nearly anyone in public life”.

“Hillary Clinton’s release of updated medical information today meets a standard followed by presidential candidates like Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Additionally, Hillary has made public nearly 40 years of tax returns over her lifetime,” Mook said in a statement.

“In stark contrast, Donald Trump is hands down the least transparent presidential nominee in memory. His Doctor Oz charade is as completely unserious as his original joke of a letter written in five minutes. He continues to hide his taxes and business dealing behind fake excuses. And it begs the question: what is he trying to hide?”

Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, also released more details surrounding his health on Wednesday. The 58-year-old senator was deemed in “excellent health”, according to his doctor, and has faced only minor medical incidents such as molar extractions, a dislocated shoulder and a broken clavicle.

Mike Pence, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, reportedly ignored reporters’ attempts to determine whether he, too, would be disclosing his medical records. A spokesperson for the Indiana governor said he will soon release the results of a physical conducted this summer.