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James Madison (1751–1836) -

Standing just 5 ft 4 in (163 cm), James Madison was the shortest US president. His lack of build probably contributed to his childhood frailty, a condition that followed him into adulthood.

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James Madison (1751–1836) -

As he aged, Madison endured bouts of bilious fever and experienced symptoms that could have been epilepsy. During his presidency, Madison suffered from episodes of mental exhaustion and illness with associated nervousness, which often caused temporary short-term incapacity after periods of stress. He suffered from seizures and was also a hypochondriac.

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James Monroe (1758–1831) -

James Monroe's health took an early hit when he contracted malaria in 1785. He would suffer from recurring bouts of fever for the rest of his life.

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James Monroe (1758–1831) -

In August 1825, Monroe suffered a seizure so severe it nearly killed him. An especially debilitating bout of malaria was suspected. Five years after he left office, Monroe developed a chronic lung illness. He died in 1831 at age 73, from heart failure and pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) -

Andrew Jackson's health issues began when, as an eight-year-old, he contracted smallpox. In 1806, he survived a dueling contest; a bullet lodged in his chest subsequently caused fevers, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

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Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) -

During the War of 1812, Jackson suffered from malarial fevers and dysentery. Weakened and exhausted, he nevertheless served two terms as president. Jackson died of dropsy, tuberculosis, and heart failure, aged 78 years.

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William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) -

William Henry Harrison was the first president to die in office, succumbing to pneumonia on April 4, 1841, just one month into the job.

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William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) -

As a soldier, farmer, and outdoorsman, Harrison had spent much of his life in cold, damp weather. Many years later, during his inauguration speech, Harrison had braved chilly conditions and chose not to wear an overcoat or a hat, and rode on horseback to the grand ceremony. It's believed the cold he caught a few days later developed into what ultimately killed him.

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Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) -

For decades, researchers have debated the reasons for Abraham Lincoln's exceptionally long, thin hands, feet, face, and neck. While he was rarely ill, it's been suggested that his elongated physical features could have stemmed from inheriting a condition from his mother called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2.

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Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) -

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 is a hereditary disorder that affects the glands that make hormones and can cause problems with your muscles, joints, and digestive system. It can also cause cancer of the adrenal glands. Of course, this all remains pure speculation. Lincoln was shot and killed in 1865.

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Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) -

Grover Cleveland struggled with weight problems for much of his life. His love for rich food and alcohol didn't help, with the president eventually tipping the scales at 260 lbs (117 kg). This put him at risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

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Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) -

Cleveland, seen here on the right with his cabinet, also liked to smoke. Soon after entering his second term, he was diagnosed with oral cancer. He opted to have surgery secretly, the operation performed on his yacht. The procedure was a success and Grover lived another 15 years before succumbing to a heart attack.

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Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) -

Theodore Roosevelt is another US president whose health issues stemmed from a sickly childhood. As a youngster, he suffered crippling asthma attacks. He was also nearsighted, which eventually led to him losing much of his vision. Roosevelt served two terms before creating the Progressive Party.

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Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) -

In 1912 while campaigning on the Progressive Party ticket, Roosevelt took an assassin's bullet. Though he survived, the slug remained lodged in his chest for the rest of his life. The following year he caught malaria while in South America. The disease, coupled with infection from the bullet wound, weakened him considerably. He lasted another six years, dying in 1919.

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William Howard Taft (1857–1930) -

Taft's excessive weight (he was 340 lbs, or 154.2 kg) caused him to suffer from sleep apnea, a condition that sometimes made him doze off during meetings and in mid-conversation. Taft's blood pressure was dangerously high, and he was always mentally and physically exhausted.

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William Howard Taft (1857–1930) -

Taft's ongoing gout eventually hit both his feet, and the president often had difficulty walking. His many chronic illnesses required visitations and long-distance communication with over 30 physicians. Taft was moderately successful in shedding some of his weight, having lost 60 lbs (27 kg) before he died of heart disease, inflammation of the liver, and extreme hypertension.

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Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) -

In 1919 while serving his second term as president, Woodrow Wilson suffered a severe stroke. It paralyzed his entire left side and forced him for a time into a wheelchair. In fact, it left him pretty much incapacitated until the end of his presidency in 1921. But concerns had been voiced about Wilson's health long beforehand.

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Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) -

The stroke in 1919 was one of several Wilson had suffered since 1896. They had variously left him unable to write for a year, and impaired his vision. Wilson tried unsuccessfully to hide his incapacity from the American public, but the pressure and work only exacerbated his condition. Wilson, having left office, suffered his final and terminal stroke in 1924.

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Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) -

Warren G. Harding was elected president of the United States in 1920, and died before he finished his third year in office. Even before he entered the White House, Harding was suffering from high blood pressure and displaying early signs of diabetes. Progressive weakness, shortness of breath, and chest pain ensued.

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Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) -

Overweight and smoking too much, Harding's health began to deteriorate. In 1923, he developed an episode of abdominal pain and fever—a protracted, enervating gastrointestinal digestive illness that was diagnosed as influenza. In August of that year, he died of a heart attack while still in office.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) -

Franklin D. Roosevelt was unlucky in that up until age 39 he was a relatively fit and active man. Then, in 1921, he contracted poliomyelitis, or polio. With symptoms that included symmetric ascending paralysis, facial paralysis, bowel and bladder dysfunction, and numbness and hyperesthesia, Roosevelt underwent years of therapy and rehabilitation. But the condition had paralyzed him from the waist down.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) -

After becoming president, the Secret Service went to great lengths to hide Roosevelt's disability from the public. He was rarely photographed in a wheelchair, this photograph being an exception (he's pictured with his dog Fala and Ruthie Bie, the daughter of caretakers at the Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New York.) Roosevelt wore leg braces for stability, but needed assistance when walking. He died of a massive intracerebral hemorrhage at age 63.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) -

When he was elected president, Dwight D. Eisenhower was already suffering from abdominal adhesions as a result of an appendectomy. He was also a chain smoker.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) -

In 1955, Eisenhower suffered a serious heart attack. which required six weeks' hospitalization. A year later, he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a condition that necessitated surgery for a bowel obstruction. In 1957, he endured a mild stroke. During his second term, Eisenhower's health deteriorated rapidly. Several additional and ultimately crippling hearts attacks later in life culminated in his death, aged 78.

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John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) -

As a youngster, John F. Kennedy was plagued by a slew of childhood diseases, including whooping cough, chicken pox, measles, and ear infections. In 1920, he contracted scarlet fever. When he was 30, Kennedy was diagnosed with Addison's disease.

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John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) -

JFK also suffered from chronic back pain, a condition that eventually required surgery. As a result, he was prescribed a cocktail of pain killers and sleeping tablets. High cholesterol, stomach and colon issues, and a penchant for Cuban cigars only served to exacerbate the president's ill health. Ultimately, however, he was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

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Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) -

At the time he took office on January 20, 1981, Ronald Regan was 69 years old. He brought with him to the White House a number of physical maladies associated with advanced age, among them hearing loss and impaired vision (he was nearsighted).

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Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) -

In 1985, Reagan went under the knife to remove cancer from his colon. And rumors circulating in Washington suggesting the president was suffering from early onset Alzheimer's (a disease he was in fact diagnosed with after he left office) were rife. But the fact that Reagan survived an assassin's bullet in 1981, an attempt on his life that resulted in a broken rib, punctured lung, and internal bleeding, created a bond between him and the American people that was never really broken.

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Joe Biden -

Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States, survived two life-threatening brain aneurysms. They both occurred in 1988 when he was a senator for Delaware. He had been experiencing headaches before his first aneurysm in February that year, for which he underwent brain surgery. He suffered a second aneurysm and underwent a second surgery a couple of months later. He was given a clean bill of health after treatment, although many of his detractors question his memory as he continues to lead in his eighties. 

Sources: (UCLA Health) (JSTOR) (National Center for Biotechnology Information) (American Heart Association) 

See also: Famous figures who died of alcoholism 

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