Sen. Bernie Sanders has withheld a key measure that could indicate how healthy his heart is, according to a leading cardiologist.
After the Vermont senator claimed last week that his team released the “full report of that heart attack” he suffered earlier in his campaign as well as letters from doctors outlining his health, the president of the American College of Cardiology reviewed the letters and said they omit a “standard” indicator of heart health.
The indicator, called the left ventricular ejection fraction, measures how much blood volume the heart pushes out with one heartbeat and correlates with the risk for future cardiac-related incidents.
“Normally, the heart will push out 60%,” Richard Kovacs told NBC News on Monday. “If you go down to 40% or 50%, we regard that as mild impairment of the left ventricle. Thirty to 40% would be moderate. If you get to 30%, that would be severe.”
He added of Sanders and his team, “They’ve chosen not to reveal the ejection fraction.”
Sanders, who has not shared what his number was at the time of his heart attack or what it is now, was treated in October and received two stents.
“I think we have released a detailed medical report, and I’m comfortable on what we have done,” Sander said Tuesday night during a town hall on CNN.
If elected, Sanders would be among the oldest presidents in United States history.
