I reached down and grabbed him by his hair, which there was a lot, and he's a big guy and I lifted him up and said "you need a ride?", And I flipped him into the boat and he was coughing, and he lacerated his chest, because he'd been raked over some shoals and brought him to shore that was it. ... He said I saved his life; he was in trouble, there's no doubt about that. 2

Comment: The condition has several other names, including gastroesophageal reflux, GE reflux, and GERD.

In sum, Clinton had five exercise tolerance tests while President; it was felt at his last Presidential physical examination (in 2001) that another such test was unwarranted. He started taking simvastatin (Zocor) at that time, because of elevated cholesterol levels, as discussed in a press conference MORE.

In September 2004 Clinton needed urgent coronary bypass surgery (see below).

After leaving office, Clinton was on the South Beach diet for an unknown time, and did lose weight 4 -- and then needed a bypass operation.

An allergist evaluated him in autumn 1991 and reported 1e:

He [Clinton] has a history of nasal congestion, swelling of his eyes, and difficulty breathing through his nose. His nasal congestion was so severe in the spring of 1991 that he had difficulty running. There is no history of wheezing, asthma, or severe allergic reaction. His signs and symptoms are worse in the fall. He is noted to be a nonsmoker.

Clinton continued to have allergy symptoms while President.

Editorial: Dr. Zebra is a little bitter over this failure of leadership. Clinton's refusal lent credence to the crackpots and conspiracy theorists who used anthrax vaccination to sow suspicion and discontent in the military. (To his credit, Secretary of Defense Cohen was immunized.)

Had the operation required general anesthesia, Clinton had planned to transfer Presidential authority to Vice President Gore under terms of the 25th Amendment 9. Clinton was awake during the entire operation and "was alert most of the time" 8.

Clinton's attorney responded: "In terms of size, shape, direction, whatever the devious mind wants to concoct, the President is a normal man. There are no blemishes, there are no moles, there are no growths." 11 (Monica Lewinsky also disagreed with Jones' description 12.)

By February 1998 the hoopla over this particular facet had muted.

The "distinguishing characteristics" claim, for example, is rarely mentioned anymore since Bennett [Clinton's attorney] obtained medical testimony that he said disputes her description. Jones's current lawyers have said that is not a principal part of their case. 13

Comment: Jones' description is not reprinted here. It lacks the detail necessary to determine whether Clinton has "Peyronie disease," which has been a topic of speculation. It is interesting, however, that Clinton had an exuberant fibrotic reaction in his chest after his coronary bypass operation. Fibrosis is the basis of Peyronie disease.

Comment: The House of Representatives impeached Clinton on December 19, 1998, thereby helping establish "Dr. Zebra's Law" which states: "Any president whose genital morphology becomes a topic of public discussion will be impeached." See the page for Donald Trump.

Clinton ultimately underwent successful bypass.

Comment: Apparently Clinton had unstable angina, not a heart attack. Dr. Zebra has not, however, seen this explicitly mentioned in published reports. Angina (a type of chest discomfort) occurs when heart muscle is starved for oxygen. This starvation may or may not cause part of the starved muscle to die. By contrast, a heart attack ("myocardial infarction") has occurred when part of the heart muscle has died, however small. Blood tests are the best way to distinguish angina from a heart attack.