Speaking during a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in the White House press pool that physicians for the president have found he has a chronic, age-induced health condition called chronic venous insufficiency. The condition is not serious, and the finding answers questions many had after the president was spotted with bruises on his hands ahead of a major speech he gave on reindustrialization.
For reference, chronic venous insufficiency is a chronic condition that causes swelling of the legs, and can cause difficulty with sending blood back to the heart. Leavitt announced the news during the Thursday, July 17 White House Press Briefing in response to the many questions that were raised online and in person after the hand bruising was first spotted.
Particularly, she addressed the many concerns over whether the president will be able to finish out his first term because of the condition. She noted that those concerns are overblown, and the condition is less serious than it initially appears. She said, “Many in the media have been speculating about bruising on the president’s hand.”
To show that the concerns are overblown, Leavitt then quoted from a letter that the White House physician wrote to President Trump about the condition and what it means, a letter that has now been released publicly through the White House website. In the letter, the doctors noted that the condition is common and not particularly worrisome.
Beginning, the letter provided that the condition was examined because slight swelling in his legs was noticed. It noted, “In recent weeks, President Trump noted mild swelling in his lower legs. In keeping with routine medical care and out of an abundance of caution, this concern was thoroughly evaluated by the White House Medical Unit.”
Continuing, the letter noted that the condition is common amongst men of the president’s age, saying, “The President underwent a comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies.
Bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of
70. Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or arterial disease.”
Further, the letter emphasized that the other markers of health that could have shown something was amiss, other than just the slight swelling, wasn’t worrisome, providing, “Laboratory testing included a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, coagulation profile, D-dimer, B-type natriuretic peptide, and cardiac biomarkers. 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.”
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Concluding, the letter noted that the president is taking aspirin as part of his health regimen and that it, when paired with his frequent hand shaking with supporters, appears to have caused the hand bruising. It said, “Additionally, recent photos of the President have shown minor bruising on the back of his hand. This is consistent with 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.”
Watch Leavitt discuss the matter and read from the letter here: