Phlebitis, Pulmonary Emboli and Presidential Politics: Richard M. Nixon's Complicated Deep Vein Thrombosis

Abstract

In September of 1974, Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency of the United States during an impeachment investigation concerning the Watergate Affair. One month after his resignation, the former President had an exacerbation of his chronic deep vein thrombosis. He also received a Presidential pardon from Gerald Ford on the same day that his recurrent deep vein thrombosis was diagnosed. The political, legal, and medical events that unfolded in the fall of 1974 are the substance of this report. Presidents often receive medical care that stretches the ordinary as a result of their position and the importance of their actions. The events surrounding Richard Nixon's care for deep vein thrombosis and its complications were not unusual for Presidential health care but were closely intertwined with the legal proceedings during the prosecution of the Watergate defendants.