Trump suffering from chronic condition after lower leg swelling sparks concern, White House reveals

WASHINGTON — President Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a blood circulation issue, after noticing “mild swelling in his lower legs,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed Thursday.

Leavitt made the surprise disclosure while addressing conjecture about recent bruising on Trump’s hands, which she said was assessed to be “irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin” as a preventative heart-health measure.

“In the effort of transparency, the president wanted me to share a note from his physician with all of you today,” Leavitt said at a press briefing.

“In recent weeks, President Trump noted mild swelling in his lower legs,” Dr. Sean Barbabella wrote in a one-page memo read aloud by Leavitt.

“In keeping with routine medical care and out of an abundance of caution, this concern was thoroughly evaluated by the White House Medical Unit,” the doctor went on.

“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,” the memo reads.

“Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or arterial disease.”

The presidential physician wrote that Trump was subjected to various tests, including to rule out a blood clot and heart issues.

“An echocardiogram was also performed and confirmed normal cardiac structure and function. No signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness were identified.”

The memo did not specify how Trump, 79, would be treated for the ailment.

The doctor also wrote that bruising recently visible on Trump’s hand was “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.”

Medical experts say common treatments for chronic venous insufficiency include wearing compression stockings and increasing exercise to improve blood flow.

“There’s no immediate cause for concern — his condition can be managed and monitored over time with the same ultrasound screenings,” said vascular surgeon Dr. Marc Glickman, chief medical officer of therapeutic device company enVVeno.

Dr. William Shutze, who treats afflicted patients at Texas Vascular Associates in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, said “it does increase his risk of blood clots during his travel for sure, since we already know he’s pooling blood — so that’s where the compression stockings are going to be very important.”

The condition is caused by a person’s veins being unable to return blood toward their heart and is more common among sedentary people, though it also can occur in active patients, said Shutze, who serves on the executive board of the Society for Vascular Surgery.

The vein specialist added that doctors should “investigate a little bit more about exactly what [Trump’s] level of activity is… For this condition, it needs to be increased to increase the muscle mass in his legs to get them pushing on those veins more.”

Shutze said plausible treatments include “golfing more — not riding the cart — or walking daily,” as well as tensing calf muscles at meetings that require prolonged sitting and getting up to walk around Air Force One during long flights.

Although blood clots, particularly unnoticed ones deep in muscles, can prove fatal, Shutze said Trump likely will be fine with minimal effort.

“This is mostly kind of an annoying problem for people,” he said, “but not a serious or life-threatening issue.”