While Emmanuel Macron tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning December 17, a look back at the illnesses from which our previous Presidents of the Republic suffered.
Georges Pompidou, Waldenström disease and sepsis
As his last public appearances show, Georges Pompidou suffered martyrdom at the end of his mandate. Since 1968, he had suffered from Waldenström’s disease, a hematological cancer characterized by lymphoplasmocytes (intermediate stage between B lymphocyte and plasma cell) proliferating in the bone marrow and synthesizing a monoclonal immunoglobulin. Still in office, Georges Pompidou finally died of a generalized infection of the body (sepsis) in April 1974.
François Mitterrand’s prostate cancer
Long kept secret, François Mitterrand’s prostate cancer was diagnosed in 1981, shortly after his election. This mythical figure of the left had been operated on for the first time in September 1992 and was undergoing chemotherapeutic and radiotherapy treatments. François Mitterand underwent a second operation in July 1994, and died of the disease on January 8, 1996.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men over 50. In France, it is responsible for 9,000 deaths per year, but many forms develop slowly and do not necessarily require treatment in elderly men. When diagnosed early, its treatment is very effective.
Jacques Chirac, stroke and anosognosia
While he ate and drank a lot, Jacques Chirac only experienced his first real health problem at the age of 72, when he suffered a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) – blood flow to the brain is then cut off by a clogged or ruptured blood vessel.
In 2011, a medical report intended for Justice but which had leaked to the press showed that he had also been diagnosed with anosognosia. This neuropsychological disorder prevents a patient with an illness or disability from being aware of their condition. Jacques Chirac died on September 26, 2019, after a long cognitive decline.
The vagal malaise of Nicolas Sarkozy
On July 26, 2009, in the middle of his presidential term, Nicolas Sarkozy suffered from vagal discomfort while jogging in the park of the Lanterne residence in Versailles. Hospitalized, he remained under cardiological monitoring overnight. When he was discharged, the doctors had diagnosed that his discomfort was due “fatigue related to a heavy workload” and on too strict a weight-loss diet.
Vagal discomfort is discomfort that may be due to excessive activity of the parasympathetic nervous system or decreased activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Often associated with strong emotion, this discomfort is the result of a slowing of the heart rate associated with a drop in blood pressure, leading to cerebral hypoperfusion. It can result in a brief partial (lipothymia) or total (syncope) loss of consciousness.
Emmanuel Macron caught up with Covid-19
Cough, fatigue, fever… President Emmanuel Macron tested positive at Covid-19 Thursday, December 17 in the morning. The Head of State therefore left the Elysée Palace to isolate himself at the official residence of La Lanterne, in Versailles.
Covid-19 refers to the disease caused by a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The vast majority of forms of this infection are mild or asymptomatic, but Covid-19 also gives rise to potentially serious or even fatal pneumonia, as it is complicated in one out of 4 cases. If it was initially considered an exclusively respiratory disease, it now appears that it is also a system pathology, and that other organs are largely affected (heart, vessels, skin, kidney, neurological and digestive system, etc.).
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