President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final Illness

Warren G. Harding was elected president of the United States in 1920 and died before he finished his third year in office. Early in 1923, he had progressive weakness, shortness of breath, and chest pain. In July of 1923, while on a western trip, he developed an episode of abdominal pain and fever. H...

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Main Author: Theodore N. Pappas, MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Health 2020-12-01
Series:Annals of Surgery Open
Online Access:http://journals.lww.com/10.1097/AS9.0000000000000006
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author Theodore N. Pappas, MD
author_facet Theodore N. Pappas, MD
author_sort Theodore N. Pappas, MD
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description Warren G. Harding was elected president of the United States in 1920 and died before he finished his third year in office. Early in 1923, he had progressive weakness, shortness of breath, and chest pain. In July of 1923, while on a western trip, he developed an episode of abdominal pain and fever. His trip was truncated and he was taken to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, where 5 physicians attempted to treat his worsening symptoms. He died on August 2 of what was presumed to be a stroke. Historians have disagreed over the President’s cause of death. This article reviews the medical evidence available from the doctors who cared for the President in an effort to define Harding’s terminal illness.
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spelling doaj.art-b103441ef37c4b6ca43474882d12cdfe2023-08-30T06:08:12ZengWolters Kluwer HealthAnnals of Surgery Open2691-35932020-12-0112e00610.1097/AS9.0000000000000006202012000-00002President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final IllnessTheodore N. Pappas, MD0From the Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.Warren G. Harding was elected president of the United States in 1920 and died before he finished his third year in office. Early in 1923, he had progressive weakness, shortness of breath, and chest pain. In July of 1923, while on a western trip, he developed an episode of abdominal pain and fever. His trip was truncated and he was taken to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, where 5 physicians attempted to treat his worsening symptoms. He died on August 2 of what was presumed to be a stroke. Historians have disagreed over the President’s cause of death. This article reviews the medical evidence available from the doctors who cared for the President in an effort to define Harding’s terminal illness.http://journals.lww.com/10.1097/AS9.0000000000000006
spellingShingle Theodore N. Pappas, MD
President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final Illness
Annals of Surgery Open
title President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final Illness
title_full President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final Illness
title_fullStr President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final Illness
title_full_unstemmed President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final Illness
title_short President Warren G. Harding and the 5 Doctors Who Managed His Final Illness
title_sort president warren g harding and the 5 doctors who managed his final illness
url http://journals.lww.com/10.1097/AS9.0000000000000006
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