White House doctors have diagnosed President Donald Trump with chronic venous insufficiency after he noticed swelling in his legs, the White House announced Thursday.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump, 79, recently underwent testing to examine the swelling, which included diagnostic vascular studies and an ultrasound of his legs, revealing the vein condition.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, chronic venous insufficiency occurs when veins in the legs struggle to allow blood to flow back up to the heart, often as a result of damaged valves in the veins. The condition affects about 1 in 20 adults.
Dr. Ali Azizzadeh, professor and director of vascular surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, tells TIME that the condition is “a very common diagnosis, and it’s not dangerous,”
“It’s more that it bothers the patient, with regards to the swelling and the pain and the discomfort,” he says, adding that it isn’t a condition likely to impact Trump’s life expectancy.
Leavitt provided the health update amid online speculation about visible swelling around Trump’s ankles and bruises on his hands, the latter of which she said was attributable to his “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.”
While chronic venous insufficiency is not life-threatening, according to the Cleveland Clinic, it can lead to serious complications if left untreated—including leg ulcers, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, and secondary lymphedema. There is no cure for the condition, but compression therapy and exercise can help manage symptoms.
Leavitt said that testing reviewed by his physician Dr. Sean Barbabella found no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease and an echocardiogram showed normal cardiac structure and function. The physician wrote in a memo shared with reporters after the briefing that all results from testing were “within normal limits” and that an echocardiogram showed “normal cardiac structure and function.”
“President Trump remains in excellent health,” Barbabella wrote in the memo.
Leavitt added that Trump is not feeling any discomfort from the conditions.
Trump underwent his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in April. A report from his doctor found that the President was “in excellent health” at the time, according to the White House.
—Angela Haupt contributed reporting.
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