The White House confirmed on Thursday that President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with “chronic venous insufficiency” following concerns regarding the president’s mysterious swollen legs and bruised hand in recent photos.
Pictures shared Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, seemed to show the president with swollen ankles during his appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday and with a bruised hand during “press availability.” Fox News reported that Trump’s hand also appeared to be bruised during a meeting with Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s prime minister, on Wednesday. The mysterious bruises led to widespread speculation by the news media.
During a Thursday press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “I know that many in the media have been speculating about bruising on the president’s hand and also swelling in the president’s legs. So, in the effort of transparency, the president wanted me to share a note from his physician with all of you today.”
Leavitt explained that Trump “underwent a comprehensive examination including diagnostic vascular studies, bilateral lower extremity intravenous doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70.”
The White House press secretary noted that Trump’s medical evaluation did not find any evidence of arterial disease or deep vein thrombosis.
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“Laboratory testing included a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel coagulation profile, D-dimer, B-type natriuretic peptide and cardiac biomarkers,” Leavitt told reporters. “All results were within normal limits. An echocardiogram was also performed and confirmed normal cardiac structure and function. No signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness were identified.”
In addition to the diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency, Leavitt told reporters that the mysterious bruising on the back of the president’s hands has been attributed to a “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”
“This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy, and the president remains in excellent health, which I think all of you witness on a daily basis here,” Leavitt added.
The White House also released a memorandum on Thursday from Physician to the President Capt. Sean Barbabella. In the summary of the memorandum, Barbabella stated, “President Trump remains in excellent health.”
