Ailing in the Oval Office

Ill-Health, Bad President?

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was diagnosed with a lung infection and chose to keep it a secret. A look back into the history of presidential health issues shows, that many presidents had been fighting often more severe and in some cases incurable diseases.

For example, Franklyn D. Roosevelt had been infected with polio, resulting in a paralysis of both his legs. He hence financially supported research, which led to the creation of a vaccine. He guided Amerika through World War Two.

And then there's John F. Kennedy, who, despite his youthful image, wasn’t the healthiest president in office. Kennedy kept his diagnosis of Addison’s disease, an incurable disorder of the adrenal glands, from the public. Still, he mastered the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Those are only two examples of presidents whose health wasn’t in the best of shape. The below infographic shows that other men in the Oval Office did their job despite suffering from ill-health. A more extensive list was published by Healthline magazine.

Description

This chart shows some of the health issues selected US presidents had been afflicted with.

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Percentage of U.S. population with health insurance 2020-2024, by coverage
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Top 10 health care provider companies by market cap 2025
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Share of U.S. workers with self-funded health insurance plans in 2025, by industry
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Per capita health expenditure in selected countries 2024
Public and private per capita health expenditure in selected countries 2024
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Provincial governmental health spending per capita in Canada 2025, by province

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