Health and Medical History of President
Harry Truman
President #33: 1945-1953
Lived 1884-1972
Lived 1884-1972
"Truman had very few health problems in his lifetime -- mostly minor. [But] he had a tendency
to ignore his illness until it either went away, or floored him."
1a
Health and Medical History of President
Harry Truman
President #33: 1945-1953
Lived 1884-1972
Lived 1884-1972
↓
Lived 1884-1972
2023
1776
Revolutionary War1776-1783
War of 18121812-1815
Mexican-American War1846-1848
Civil War1861-1865
Spanish-American War1898-1899
World War 11917-1918
World War 21941-1945
Korean War1950-1953
Viet Nam War1964-1975
Desert Storm1990-1991
Bush's Wars2001-2021
Lived 1884-1972
2023
1776
Revolutionary War1776-1783War of 18121812-1815Mexican-American War1846-1848Civil War1861-1865Spanish-American War1898-1899World War 11917-1918World War 21941-1945Korean War1950-1953Viet Nam War1964-1975Desert Storm1990-1991Bush's Wars2001-2021
"Truman had very few health problems in his lifetime -- mostly minor. [But] he had a tendency
to ignore his illness until it either went away, or floored him."
1a
Maladies & Conditions
· diphtheria · farsightedness · childhood accidents · car accident · stress headaches · WW1: horse fall · sore throat · cardiac asthma · smallpox vaccine · stress · intestinal flu · gall bladder · medication allergy · hernia operation · bathroom fall · slowing down · heart failure
Odds & Ends ·
Doctors ·
Resources ·
Cited Sources
Maladies and Conditions
Truman developed diphtheria in 1894 at age 10. He was paralyzed for several months and had
to be wheeled around in a baby carriage. Diphtheria antitoxin was unavailable then, so he was
treated with ipecac and whiskey. He developed a severe distaste for both.
1b
As a child, Truman was diagnosed with a rare eye problem, "flat eyeballs." He wore
thick glasses beginning at age eight, after his mother noticed he was able to see the large
print in the family Bible, but unable to see objects at a distance. It has been said that Truman
was far-sighted (which fits with the flat eyeballs diagnosis)
1b,
but this pattern of visual acuity is characteristic of near-sightedness.
The issue is interesting because one possible cause of far-sightedness in young people is diphtheria.
Diphtheria can paralyze the ciliary muscle, the muscle that allows the eye to focus close in.
Most biographers say Truman wore glasses before he contracted diphtheria. But Truman's son-in-law
states that the diphtheria attack left him with the eye problem.
1c
Truman, proficient at math, was "scheduled" to attend
the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, but his poor eyesight scuttled the plan
and left him bitterly disappointed
2a.
(1) Broke his collar bone when he fell out of a chair while combing his hair. (2) Avulsed
the end of his big toe by slamming a door on it. The family doctor reattached it using a coating
of iodoform. (3) Nearly asphyxiated on a peach pit lodged in his throat. His mother saved
his life by quick thinking and quick action: she pushed the peach pit down his throat with
her finger.
1c
While a Congressman in 1938, a car smashed into Truman's as he drove through an intersection.
The other driver did not see the stop sign at the intersection because it was blocked by a
parked car. Truman's car was completely wrecked. Truman's daughter recalled: "It was a
miracle that we escaped alive. Dad had a cut over his forehead and Mother had a wrenched back."
1c
Truman's daughter also recalled that Truman always drove too fast.
1c
Truman re-enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in 1917, at age 33. He was elected an officer
and shipped to the front in 1918. Truman was on horseback when, on 29 August, his artillery
battery came under German fire. The horse was hit by shrapnel and fell into a shell hole, trapping
Truman underneath. He had to be pulled from beneath the horse. About this time, several of
the men broke and ran. Truman rallied the remainder "with some salty language he had learned
while working on the Sante Fe railroad. The troops were so shocked to hear such language from
Truman that they swung into action immediately."
3
In a letter home, Truman wrote that he had learned to sleep with his gas mask on
3
(perhaps
4).
Comment:
Was Truman gassed during WW1?
In early July 1946 Truman wrote his mother: "Early last week... I cultivated a sore throat
and infected ear, but both are all right now. It's the first time I ever had a bad ear. But
couldn't let up."
1e
Truman's diary entry for March 7, 1947 says: "Doc tell's [sic] me I have Cardiac Asthma!
Aint that hell. Well it makes no diff, will go on as before. I've sworn him to secrecy! So
What!"
5.
Many years later, Truman's physician,
Dr. Wallace Graham,
recalled: "whenever President Truman would get into tight pinches, or really clutched
up, he would have a little bubbling in the lungs, and he would have a little rale [a lung sound
often caused by fluid in the lungs] at the base of his lungs"
5.
Graham, who admitted he withheld information about Truman's health from the public, used diuretics
(fluid pills) to treat the condition, sometimes staying up all night with the coughing Truman
5.
MORE
Comment:
(#1) "Cardiac asthma" is a little-used term today. It is often equated with pulmonary
edema (fluid in the lungs), but a 1946 cardiology textbook
6a
makes a clear distinction, noting that cardiac asthma can occur without pulmonary edema. Cardiac
asthma is asthmatic-type breathing ("asthmatic respiration is a particular type of dyspnea")
caused by sudden congestion of the pulmonary circulation. There may or may not be interstitial
edema. Both cardiac asthma and pulmonary edema are generally considered to be manifestations
of heart failure.
Comment:
(#2) Cardiac asthma is usually due to a major mechanical malfunction of the heart and can be
rapidly fatal. Unless the cause is something reversible, such as uncontrolled hypertension,
a person who is having episodes of cardiac asthma will continue to have them. It apparently
did not take much to tip Truman into cardiac asthma in 1947. How did he manage to survive for
another 25 years? He was not then hypertensive. One wonders if the diagnosis was correct.
In April 1947, health care workers in New York City administered an astonishing 6.35 million
smallpox vaccinations in 28 days, prompted by the presence in the city of a single smallpox-infected
person (he died). On Sunday, April 20, White House physician
Dr. Wallace H. Graham
announced that "President Truman's preparations for a three-hour visit to New York the
next day had included a brand-new vaccination"
7a
8.
Comment:
Roueché's use of "brand-new" implies that Truman had been previously vaccinated,
which would hardly be surprising for that era.
In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy's attacks had put such a strain on Truman that his wife insisted
on a retreat to Florida to recuperate.
1e
In 1954 Truman had a gall bladder attack while watching a play. He underwent a successful emergency
operation.
1f
After his gall bladder operation, Truman received an antibiotic that caused a severe allergic
reaction. Truman described having "hives inside and out" and being temporarily unable
to keep food down. He recovered in a few days.
1f
He developed abdominal discomfort in 1963. He was operated upon, and recovered uneventfully.
1f
Truman had fallen on ice during one of his morning walks about a year after his gall bladder
operation, with no serious consequences. At age 83, however, he fell in the bathroom. He broke
two ribs, cut his forehead, and broke his glasses.
1f
By late 1970 Truman's health was declining. His morning walks were less brisk and less frequent.
He moved more slowly, read less, and was generally less active. He also had recurrent vertigo
and arthritis.
1f
In his last year he developed heart failure and pulmonary congestion. He was hospitalized on
5 December 1972. He became comatose the night after Christmas and died on 26 December at 8:50
am. The cause of death was heart failure.
1f
Odds and Ends
- His grandparents lived into their 90s, and most of his ancestors lived to an advanced age. 1b
- Drank moderately, mostly bourbon and white wine. 1c
- Walked two miles every day 1c. He sometimes walked more. Astronaut Gordon Cooper, who, in his youth, was a Marine assigned to the White House Honor Guard, reports that President Truman would occasionally sneak away from the Secret Service and walk the five miles to the Marine barracks, then walk back 9a.
- When Truman ran for President in 1948 he was 64 years old. He weighed 175 pounds and his blood
pressure was 120-128/80. He had a slow pulse all his life, which his doctors attributed to
a lack of stress.
1e
Comment:
It is hard to believe (a) Truman was without stress, and (b) lack of stress "causes"
a slow pulse. One must also wonder what the standard for "slow pulse" was in the
middle of the 20th century.
By contrast, Mrs. Truman ate a salt-free diet because she had high blood pressure. She would feel "sick" if she got too excited, and would take to bed until her pressure normalized." 2b - On November 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate Truman. They tried to break into Blair House (a building near the White House, where Truman was staying during renovation of the White House). Truman was taking a nap. In three minutes, 32 shots were fired and a White House policeman killed. When later asked about the incident, Truman said: "Well, I'll tell you, getting shot at was nothing I worried about when I was President. It wouldn't have done the slightest bit of good if I had. My opinion has always been that if you are in an office like that, and someone wants to shoot you, they'll probably do it, and nothing much can help you out." 1e
Doctors
In Congress (maybe)
During Presidency
Resources
Cited Sources
- Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994.
a pp.220, 222 b p.220 c p.221 d pp.221-222 e p.222 f p.223Comment: Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
- Parks, Lillian Rogers. My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House. New York: Fleet Publishing, 1961.
a p.279 b p.304Comment: This book stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 26 weeks, prompting Jacqueline Kennedy to require all staff at the White House to sign a pledge agreeing not to write about their experiences (NY Times, page B8, Nov. 12, 1997). Parks's mother, a maid at the White House from 1909-1939, had actually been encouraged by Eleanor Roosevelt to write and publish a memoir (p260).
- Gilwee, William J. ?. Relevance: The Journal of the Great War Society. Vol. 2-4; Spring-Fall 1993.
Comment: Available on the web at: http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/truman.htm - Ferrell, Robert H. Dear Bess; The Letters of Harry to Bess Truman, 1910-1959. New York: W.W. Norton, 1983.
- Huget, Jennifer. The secret heart of Harry Truman: Diary reveals diagnosis of "cardiac asthma": hushed up then, obscure still. Washington Post. July 22, 2003; page HE01.
Comment: Accessed through washingtonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25477-2003Jul21.html There is also a substantially inconsequential correction published the next day: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31867-2003Jul22.html - White, Paul Dudley. Heart Disease. (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan, 1944; 4th printing May 1946.
a p.29
- Roueché, Berton. Eleven Blue Men and Other Narratives of Medical Detection. New York: Berkley Medallion, 14th printing, 1968 (orig. published 1955).
a p.108Comment: A wonderful book!
- Elliott, Victoria Stagg. "People were terrified:" Smallpox 1947. American Medical News. June 23, 2003. Pages 34-35.
- Cooper, L. Gordon. Leap of Faith. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
a p.102
Other Sources
George Washington · John Adams · Thomas Jefferson · James Madison · James Monroe · John Q. Adams · Andrew Jackson · Martin van Buren · William Harrison · John Tyler · James Polk · Zachary Taylor · Millard Fillmore · Franklin Pierce · James Buchanan · Abraham Lincoln · Andrew Johnson · Ulysses Grant · Rutherford Hayes · James Garfield · Chester Arthur · Grover Cleveland · Benjamin Harrison · Grover Cleveland · William McKinley · Theodore Roosevelt · William Taft · Woodrow Wilson · Warren Harding · Calvin Coolidge · Herbert Hoover · Franklin Roosevelt · Harry Truman · Dwight Eisenhower · John Kennedy · Lyndon Johnson · Richard Nixon · Gerald Ford · James Carter · Ronald Reagan · George Bush · William Clinton · George W. Bush · Barack Obama · Donald Trump · Joseph Biden