Before Biden, these 5 past presidents faced health issues amid re-election
As President Biden steps aside from his nomination amid concerns about his cognitive fitness, here are five other U.S. presidents who have faced health complications ahead of re-election.
President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
Although the White House press office told Fox News Digital on Monday that "health was not a factor" in the president's decision to withdraw, multiple doctors expressed concern about signs of cognitive decline after Biden’s widely criticized performance in the June 27 presidential debate.
Two medical experts told Fox News Digital their belief that Biden’s decision to step down is best for the president’s health.
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Biden, however, isn’t the only president whose re-election was potentially thwarted by health issues or concerns.
Here are five others.
After he was elected America’s 21st president in 1881, Chester Arthur experienced health complications due to malaria, which remained endemic in Washington, D.C., throughout the 19th century, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
In 1882, Arthur continued to suffer from progressive fatigue, extreme weight loss and peripheral edema, the NIH reported.
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After a closer health inspection, Arthur was diagnosed with Bright’s Disease, today known as chronic kidney disease.
The president’s health worsened during his last two years in office, with reported symptoms of fluid retention, rigors (shaking or shivering), nausea and colicky abdominal pain.
As the 1884 election inched closer, Arthur sought a second term — but lost the Republican nomination to James G. Blaine, the then-Speaker of the House.
Blaine went on to lose the election to Democrat Grover Cleveland.
Arthur died on Nov. 18, 1886, at age 57, according to the Smithsonian.
Theodore Roosevelt took over as commander-in-chief at nearly 43 years old in 1901 following the assassination of President William McKinley, according to the White House Historical Association.
Roosevelt was then re-elected in 1904.
After William Howard Taft’s term, which began in 1909, Roosevelt decided to re-join the race in 1912, creating his own "Bull Moose" party.
While campaigning on Oct. 14, 1912, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roosevelt was shot during an assassination attempt outside the Gilpatrick Hotel.
The bullet was slowed by Roosevelt's dense overcoat, his steel-reinforced eyeglasses case and his 50-page speech folded in his inner right jacket pocket, as History.com reported.
The bullet punctured the president's right chest, but did not damage his lungs. It was left lodged inside his ribs — which was deemed safer than operating.
Roosevelt continued his campaign while in recovery — but was beaten by Democrat Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 election.
Woodrow Wilson carried out two full terms and intended to run for a third.
But the then-president was "severely hindered" by a neurological condition that caused him to suffer from strokes before and during his presidency, according to the NIH.
Before he took office, three strokes affected his right hand and left arm, and caused blindness in his left eye.
A damaging stroke during his presidency in Oct. 1919 left Wilson paralyzed on the left side and with only partial vision in his right eye.
He was confined to his bed for several weeks, the NIH reported.
Wilson did not sufficiently recover from this episode.
In the 1920s, the Republicans requested confirmation that he was still able to carry out his duties as required by the Constitution.
The president's doctor, Dr. Cary Grayson, would not publicly comment on Wilson's health status as Wilson pursued re-election for a third term.
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By the time of the Democratic Convention that summer, however, Grayson shared Wilson’s poor medical state with party leaders and rejected the idea of a third term.
Wilson was ultimately not given the presidential nomination, and Republican Warren G. Harding was elected in 1921.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was the only U.S. president to serve more than two terms in office, as he was elected for four terms throughout World War II.
Roosevelt had suffered from health issues since his paralysis as a result of polio at 39 years old, according to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum.
During his third term in office, Roosevelt was diagnosed with heart disease, which was kept hidden from the public ahead of his re-election for a fourth term, the NIH reported.
Throughout 1944, Roosevelt’s team of doctors monitored his waning health, continuously recording high blood pressure measurements.
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These heart complications were attributed to the "unending stress and strain of the war," according to the FDR Library and Museum.
Roosevelt was chosen as the Democratic nominee in 1944 and continued with his campaign, even while facing skepticism about his physical fitness for office.
Although he won his fourth presidential election, Roosevelt was "debilitated" by his condition, according to the NIH.
On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt visited New York City heart specialist Dr. Howard Bruenn after complaining of a headache.
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Roosevelt’s blood pressure hit 300/190 and he lost consciousness.
Bruenn diagnosed the event as a stroke and declared the president dead at age 63.
Dwight Eisenhower began his first term in 1953 and suffered from two major illnesses, according to the NIH.
He experienced a heart attack in Sept. 1955, keeping him out of the White House for recovery until December.
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Although Eisenhower got clearance from his doctors, the NIH reported that his cardiologists recommended against his running for a second term.
The president decided to run for re-election anyway, which was followed by his second major health event in June 1956 — resulting in a diagnosis of Crohn's disease.
Eisenhower underwent an exploratory laparotomy and ileal bypass surgery for a bowel obstruction, which was successful.
After a full recovery, Eisenhower was re-elected for a second term, despite questions from the opposition about his fitness for office.
The following year, in Nov. 1957, Eisenhower suffered a stroke but ultimately fulfilled his presidency.
After leaving office, Eisenhower suffered from multiple heart attacks in the 1960s.
He died of congestive heart failure on March 28, 1969, at 78 years old.