從肺炎到中風 美國總統的健康狀況簡史

Hillary Clinton’s bout of pneumonia and the criticism of how little she and her opponent, Donald J. Trump, have made public about their medical histories thrust questions of transparency about health to the center of the presidential campaign this week, with both candidates promising to release more detailed records in the coming days.

希拉里•克林頓(Hillary Clinton)突患肺炎，以及外界對她和她的對手唐納德•J•特朗普(Donald J. Trump)幾乎未公開自己病史的指責，把有關健康透明的疑問推向了本週總統競選的中心位置。兩位候選人均承諾在未來幾天公佈更詳細的記錄。

While the public scrutiny of modern campaigns has made speculation about the health of presidential candidates more relentless, concerns about the fitness of candidates for office have long been a hallmark of American politics, with many hopefuls trying to conceal their maladies and opponents doing their best to exploit signs of weakness.

儘管公衆對現代競選的密切關注使有關總統候選人健康狀況的猜測變得更加頻繁，但長期以來，對候選人健康狀況的擔憂一直是美國政治的一大特點。不少有望成功的候選人努力隱瞞自己的疾病，對手則不遺餘力地想要利用他們身體虛弱的跡象。

From brushing off gunshot wounds to working through paralysis, presidents, and those seeking the office, have been no strangers to challenging ailments. Here are a few of history’s most prominent examples.

從對槍傷輕描淡寫到拖着癱瘓的身體工作，美國的總統和總統候選人對挑戰疾病並不陌生。以下是史上最有名的一些例子。

William Henry Harrison

威廉•亨利•哈里森

The revelation that Mrs. Clinton had pneumonia instantly drew comparisons to William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, whose tenure was the shortest in the country’s history. Harrison died from pneumonia, according to his doctor, in 1841, a month after delivering a two-hour inaugural address on a blustery day.

克林頓被爆出患有肺炎後，立即有人將其和第九任總統威廉•亨利•哈里森(William Henry Harrison)進行比較。哈里森是美國曆史上在任時間最短的總統。哈里森的醫生稱他死於肺炎，當時是1841年。在去世的一個月前，他在一個大風天發表了長達兩個小時的就職演說。

Being underdressed in bad weather was blamed for causing an illness that quickly spiraled out of control. Doctors treated him with opium and other medications that proved to be useless.

在惡劣的天氣下衣着單薄被指是哈里森患病的原因。很快，哈里森的病情失控。醫生在治療過程中使用了鴉片和其他藥物，但事實證明，這些都沒用。

Historians continue to debate the true cause of Harrison’s death, and some scholars have wondered whether his history of dyspepsia, rather than pneumonia, was really to blame. According to one theory, the White House’s lack of a proper sewage system may have contaminated its water supply with pathogens that poisoned the president.

歷史學家仍在討論哈里森的真正死因，一些學者懷疑，真正要怪的是否是他的消化不良病史，而不是肺炎。有一種理論是，大概因爲白宮沒有完善的下水道系統，因而供水中含有病原體，哈里森因此感染。

Theodore Roosevelt

西奧多•羅斯福

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign said that she had wanted to push through her pneumonia after it was diagnosed last Friday. For Douglas Brinkley, a Rice University historian, the urge to put politics before health echoed Theodore Roosevelt.

克林頓的競選團隊稱，上週五確診爲肺炎後，克林頓本想撐過去。在萊斯大學(Rice University)歷史學家道格拉斯•布林克利(Douglas Brinkley)看來，想把政治的重要性放在健康前面，這一點與西奧多•羅斯福(Theodore Roosevelt)頗爲相似。

In 1912, Roosevelt, a former president, was running again with the Progressive “Bull Moose” Party when he was shot in the chest before he was to deliver a speech in Milwaukee. The manuscript of the speech, which was in his coat pocket, cushioned the blow and saved his life. Gritting through the pain, he delivered a shortened version of the speech anyway, declaring, “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose.”

1912年，身爲前總統的羅斯福代表進步黨，又名公鹿黨，再次競選總統。在密爾沃基，羅斯福在即將發表演講時中彈。裝在衣服口袋裏的演講稿減緩了子彈帶來的衝擊，救了他一命。他忍痛發表了演講。雖然演講被縮短了，羅斯福仍然表示“這不足以殺死一隻公鹿”。

“He thought if he went to a hospital and seemed infirm, it would lower his chances of winning,” Mr. Brinkley said of Roosevelt, who ultimately lost the election.

“他認爲如果去醫院並表現出虛弱的樣子，便會降低他獲勝的可能性，”布林克利說到羅斯福時表示。最終，羅斯福在那一屆選舉中敗北。

Woodrow Wilson

伍德羅•威爾遜

President Woodrow Wilson had a debilitating stroke in 1919, leaving him incapacitated and raising questions about who was really running the executive branch.

1919年，伍德羅•威爾遜總統(Woodrow Wilson)中風，身體虛弱。中風導致他失去行動能力，並引發了疑問，人們質疑到底是誰真正在領導政府。

Scholars such as Edwin A. Weinstein, a neuropsychiatrist, spent years studying Wilson’s old correspondence to determine that he had experienced smaller strokes dating back to 1898, which might have foreshadowed his health problems later in life.

包括神經精神病學家埃德溫•A•韋恩施泰因(Edwin A. Weinstein)在內的學者，用了多年時間研究威爾遜的舊信件，並從中斷定，他最早從1898年開始便經歷了多次程度較輕的中風。這些中風可能已經預示了他晚年的健康問題。

Transparency was particularly problematic at the time, as Wilson’s wife, Edith, and his doctor allegedly orchestrated a cover-up to prevent the public from learning about his deteriorating condition.

當時，透明性尤其成問題，因爲據說爲了防止公衆知道威爾遜的健康狀況不斷惡化，他的妻子伊迪絲(Edith)和醫生精心策劃，力圖掩蓋真相。

Franklin D. Roosevelt

富蘭克林•D•羅斯福

Health was always something of a concern for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was partly paralyzed and was vigilant about keeping his wheelchair hidden from the public. But it was when he sought his fourth term as president in 1944 that his opponents seized on his diminished strength and failing faculties in hopes of finally defeating him.

健康一直是讓富蘭克林•D•羅斯福(Franklin D. Roosevelt)擔憂的一個問題。身體部分癱瘓的他十分警惕，儘量不讓自己的輪椅出現在公衆面前。但1944年，當他謀求第四個總統任期時，對手將其體力減弱，身體官能退化一事大肆加以利用，希望最終能打敗他。

Documents in Roosevelt’s presidential library show how the “whispering campaign” of his rival Thomas E. Dewey tried to paint Roosevelt as a “tired old man,” and how Roosevelt campaigned more aggressively to demonstrate that he still had vigor. Privately, Roosevelt’s doctors had warned that he had high blood pressure and was at a high risk of heart failure.

羅斯福的總統圖書館裏的文件顯示，他的競爭對手托馬斯•E•杜威(Thomas E. Dewey)試圖將羅斯福描述成一個“疲倦的老頭”，而羅斯福則加大競選力度，以證明自己依然精力充沛。私下裏，羅斯福的醫生警告他有高血壓，並且屬於心力衰竭高危人羣。

In April 1945, Roosevelt collapsed and died from a cerebral hemorrhage.

1945年4月，羅斯福因腦溢血而昏迷，隨後去世。

John F. Kennedy

約翰•F•肯尼迪

In 1960, John F. Kennedy declared himself the “healthiest candidate for president in the country.” But despite his youthful good looks, Kennedy was battling a variety of ailments, including Addison’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects the adrenal glands.

1960年，約翰•F•肯尼迪(John F. Kennedy)宣稱自己是“我國最健康的總統候選人”。但當時，儘管外表年輕英俊，肯尼迪卻在和一系列疾病作鬥爭，包括愛迪生氏症。這是一種自身免疫性疾病，會影響腎上腺。

Despite efforts by his family to hide the disorder, which can be life-threatening, pathologists who conducted his autopsy revealed in 1992 that Kennedy, who was assassinated at the age of 46, had been taking hormone replacement supplements to control the rare condition. Some suggested that he might have lost the 1960 election to Richard M. Nixon if the extent of his health problems had been known.

儘管他的家人努力想要掩蓋這種可能會危及生命的疾病，曾對他進行屍檢的病理學家在1992年透露，在46歲時遇刺身亡的肯尼迪一直在服用激素替代補充藥物，以控制這種罕見的疾病。一些人表示，在1960年的選舉中，如果外界知道他健康問題的嚴重程度，他大概會輸給理查德•M•尼克松(Richard M. Nixon)。

A more extensive batch of medical records made public in 2002 showed that Kennedy also lived in considerable discomfort, taking painkillers, anti-anxiety agents, stimulants and sleeping pills. He was also hospitalized for back and intestinal problems and had osteoporosis.

2002年公開的一批更廣泛的醫療記錄顯示，肯尼迪生前還感到極其不適，一直在服用止痛藥、抗焦慮藥物、興奮劑和安眠藥。他還因背部和腸道問題住過院，並患有骨質疏鬆症。

Ronald Reagan

羅納德•里根

The oldest president ever to take office, Ronald Reagan endured an assassination attempt and the removal of cancerous polyps from his colon.

上任時年紀最大的總統羅納德•里根(Ronald Reagan)經歷過一次刺殺未遂和癌變結腸息肉切除。

Some historians have blamed the colon surgery, in 1985, for poor decisions Reagan made related to the Iran-contra scandal while he was recuperating. Reagan transferred power briefly to Vice President George Bush, but rushed back to work.

一些歷史學家認爲，正是1985年那次結腸手術導致里根做出了和伊朗門醜聞有關的錯誤決定。那些決定正是他在手術恢復期間做出的。里根曾短暫地將權力移交給副總統喬治•布什(George Bush)，但很快又迴歸工作。

“Reagan made a serious mistake in taking back his powers and duties,” said Robert Gilbert, an emeritus professor of political science at Northeastern University and an expert on illness in the White House.

“里根收回權力和義務其實是犯了一個嚴重的錯誤，”東北大學(Northeastern University)政治學榮休教授、美國總統疾病問題專家羅伯特•吉爾伯特(Robert Gilbert)說。

According to Mr. Gilbert, Reagan’s aides prevented people from seeing him because he was unwell, and he made decisions while hospitalized that he later did not remember.

據吉爾伯特稱，里根的助手不讓外人見他，因爲他感到不適，他在住院期間做出的決定，後來連他自己都不記得了。