The Final Illness of Herbert Hoover.

Herbert Hoover, the archetypal self-made man, was the 31st president of the United States. His term in office was overwhelmed by the Great Depression and he was defeated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1932 November presidential election. His post-presidential years were spent writing and serving 4 subsequent presidents. Near the end of his life, he underwent a cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallstones and a colectomy for colon cancer. His health care was complicated by the development of cirrhosis and recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. After his 90th birthday, he died in October 1964 from massive bleeding due to a Dieulafoy lesion of the gastric cardia. This manuscript will review the details of his health and the physicians who cared for Hoover during his final years.