Donald Trump is due back at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday for another medical check-up, with the White House saying the visit is an annual physical and routine preventive care as the president heads towards his 80th birthday. It will be his fourth publicly announced medical examination since returning to office, and the latest to invite more questions than answers.
HAPPENING TODAY: President Trump heads to Walter Reed Military Medical Center to receive his annual routine medical exam. POTUS turns 80 years old next month.Fox & Friends: “This marks his second exam since last summer when the White House revealed he was diagnosed with a…pic.twitter.com/7ZAGFyiCUQ
The President's health has been a live issue throughout his second term. A lengthy physical in April produced an upbeat summary from White House physician Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, while a later July evaluation followed swelling in Trump's legs and bruising on his right hand.
By October, the White House was again sending him to Walter Reed, this time for what officials first called a routine yearly check-up and Trump later described as a 'sort of semi-annual physical.'
The April examination was billed as an annual physical, but it was no quick once-over. According to the White House summary, it lasted nearly five hours and included blood work, a cardiac assessment, ultrasounds, laboratory tests and cognitive checks.
Barbabella said Trump was in 'excellent cognitive and physical health' and added that the president remained in 'excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function.'
President Trump is scheduled to get another medical exam, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny after he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina.https://t.co/7AIfwLBiue
That early verdict set the tone for the rest of the year. On paper, it sounded reassuring enough, the kind of sentence presidents collect when the machinery of White House medicine is working as intended. In practice, it did little to settle the public appetite for detail, especially once further visits began to pile up.
The news came after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had undergone a 'comprehensive exam' afterswelling appeared in his legs. The testing, she said, included vascular studies and led to a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency, a condition in which the leg veins do not return blood efficiently to the heart, causing pooling and swelling in the lower limbs.
Trump is heading to Walter Reed tomorrow for the THIRD time in 13 months….probably just a totally routine visit….a lot of very healthy people visit their doctor 3 times in 13 monthshttps://t.co/SVcvNiN6pUpic.twitter.com/6USjkAJWkb
Source: International Business Times UK
