Washington: Republican White House hopeful John McCain, 71,has no medical impediment to serving as president, his doctors said today, as his campaign released health records to defuse questions about his age.

Despite bouts with skin cancer and lingering effects of Vietnam war wounds, McCain's physicians said he is in excellent health and shows "extraordinary energy."

The Arizona senator, who turns 72 in August, would be the oldest president ever inaugurated for a first term, and age issues will likely surface, especially if he faces a much younger Democratic opponent in Barack Obama, 46.

Dr Victor Trastek of the Mayo Clinic in Arizona detailed McCain's medical history in a statement distributed by the McCain campaign.

"While it is impossible to predict any person s future health, today I can find no medical reason or problems that would preclude Senator McCain from fulfilling all the duties and obligations of President of the United States," he wrote.

The Arizona senator has had four malignant melanomas removed, but no recurrence of skin cancer since 2002,the clinic said.

McCain had surgery for an invasive melanoma on his left temple in 2000,which left a scar along the side of his face, and now has a skin examination every three to four months.

He currently takes medication to lower cholesterol, prevent kidney stones and uses aspirin to halt development of blood clots, the doctors said.

McCain also suffers decreased range of movement in his arms, shoulders and right knee, the legacy of injuries sustained when his navy warplane was shot down, and he was tortured during five-and-a-half years in a Hanoi prison.

Source : PTI