Her schedule is incredibly tight, her appearances tightly orchestrated — and it is increasingly rare that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks off the cuff.

Could this be because she can’t remember facts, issues, talking points — or that she gets confused without a teleprompter? Or are there larger health issues facing her that she’d rather the voting public not know?

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An increasing number of incidents on the campaign trail this past week show Clinton looking confused, unable to speak, and fragile. And now she has a larger entourage of security, including people who are apparently helping keep her on task — a new photo has surfaced showing her needing help up just a few stairs.

A video a few weeks ago showed Clinton suffering what appears to be a mild seizure while talking with reporters during a campaign stop, as World News Daily reported. (See the clip above, as well as the video further down in this piece.)

Clinton was quick to ignore those physical symptoms as she remarked to reporters that they really needed to try the iced chai she was drinking — suggesting somehow that her sudden and odd head shaking was due to her beverage selection.

But there may be far bigger health issues plaguing the first-ever female presidential nominee.

Emails recently made available show how her assistant, Huma Abedin, has repeatedly stressed the importance to those around Clinton of checking in on her and making sure she knows what is going on when she wakes up from a late afternoon nap.

“Very imp to do that,” wrote Abedin at 5:27 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, to Monica Hanley. “She’s often confused.”

Hanley replied at 4:59 p.m. the following day, “She was in bed for a nap by the time I heard that she had an 8 a.m. call. Will go over with her.”

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Huma Abedin, a loyal personal aide, seems to be operating as more of a caregiver than a policy adviser. She appears to be checking on Mrs. Clinton on a regular basis. And when Abedin is not present, Hanley has to step in. In this case, Hanley reveals that already by 5 p.m. in the afternoon, Hillary Clinton is napping, and it appears to be a regular occurrence.

Hillary Clinton, who is 68, has suffered multiple blood clots, one in her brain after a traumatic closed head injury. She takes the blood thinner Coumadin. She takes thyroid supplements. She’s recently had numerous unexplained coughing fits, and she’s worn glasses in recent months as she has in the past, to correct double vision.

We have had older presidents, and certainly there are individuals who remain vibrant and healthy into their 80s and 90s. But — like her 30,000 deleted emails — the facts regarding Hillary Clinton’s physical and mental health have been studiously kept from the public.

Related:  Obama’s Selective Recall of Clinton’s ‘Judgment’

This three-year-old exchange noted above is by no means a partisan issue. If Clinton were to become substantially incapacitated in office, or merely to suffer from diminished capacity, even her strongest political supporters would have reason to worry and wonder, Who would really be running the government?

It might be different if her husband Bill Clinton wasn’t a shadow of his former self. He can still give a good speech, but he doesn’t seem able to do any heavy lifting either — notice his tremors and glassy-eyed stares.

Putting aside political ideology, or even if you share their ideology, shouldn’t we want the person we elect to actually serve be in charge — versus the possibility or probability that there is an anonymous medical caretaker or surrogate, as happened during the Woodrow Wilson administration?

Last year, I was asked to review Mrs. Clinton’s physician’s assessment, which was provided to the press. It was sketchy and incomplete.

As shown from the emails earlier in this piece, Huma Abedin knew her boss needed to be routinely checked on. That was Hillary Clinton, the Democrat nominee, at 5 p.m. in the afternoon, so lethargic no one could wake her up. And when she is “awake” the next morning for a meeting with the prime minister of India, she has to be spoon-fed information prior to the meeting, as she does not remember facts or events.

Physicians have, on the surface, signed off on the health of both Clinton and Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, who recently turned 70. But are these certifications credible?

Last year, I was asked to review Mrs. Clinton’s physician’s assessment, which was provided to the press. It was sketchy and incomplete. But I equate the whole situation to the way in which a professional sports team might protect an injured player. As someone who served for years as a team physician for the Washington Capitals, I know it was routine for teams to mislead the public about what problems a player might have so that opponents couldn’t exploit and further attack that injury.

The same thing appears to be happening here, much the way it has been done for other high-ranking officials in the past. But is that fair to our voting public? Especially at a time when her role is only slated to get bigger, and we’re relying on her to be healthy and carry out the job?

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Law firms, airlines, and hospitals perform more rigorous assessments of their aging members than America does of our presidential nominees. We can and should do more. But we don’t. And I wonder why the mainstream media and the American public — even those who embrace the ideology of their aging candidates — don’t care more.

Dr. Ramin Oskoui, a cardiologist in the Washington, D.C., area, is CEO of Foxhall Cardiology PC and a regular contributor to LifeZette.