WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump was found to be in “exceptional health” in a medical evaluation, the U.S. president’s doctor said in a memo released by the White House on Friday, with his “cardiac age” 14 years younger than in “chronological age.”
Trump, 79, was the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency when he retook the White House in January, and he is the second oldest person to ever serve as the country’s president.
In office, the Republican president has maintained a high-tempo schedule and a fondness for red meat. On Sunday, he plans to travel to the Middle East after brokering a Gaza ceasefire deal.
“Trump remains in exceptional health, exhibiting strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, and physical performance,” Trump’s physician Sean Barbabella said in the memo, which was made out to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump also received preventive health screenings and immunizations, including annual flu and updated COVID-19 booster vaccinations, in preparation for his upcoming international travel.
“His cardiac age – a validated measure of cardiovascular vitality via ECG – was found be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age,” read the memo, which was just a few paragraphs long.
Trump’s health has been a focus of attention a year after President Joe Biden dropped his 2024 reelection bid amid questions about his fitness for the job. Trump drew a contrast with Biden during last year’s presidential campaign, portraying himself as younger and fitter.
Trump arrived at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, that has long served presidents, in the morning for what the White House called a routine yearly checkup, as well as a meeting and remarks with troops.
The visit came just six months after he had an extensive physical examination.
A memo released by the White House following the April exam said Trump was 6 feet, 3 inches (190 cm) tall and 224 pounds (102 kg) and had well-controlled high cholesterol. It praised both Trump’s robustness and his golf game.
In July, the White House disclosed that Trump was experiencing swelling in his lower legs and bruising on his right hand, after photographs showed the president with swollen ankles and makeup covering the afflicted part of his hand.
Barbabella said in a letter released by the White House at the time that tests confirmed the leg issue was due to “chronic venous insufficiency,” a benign and common condition, especially in people over 70 years old.
The doctor said the bruising on Trump’s hand was consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and aspirin use, which Trump takes as part of a “standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”
Since then, the White House has played down concerns about Trump’s health, without detailing how the leg issue is being treated.
In 2020, during his first term in office, the White House gave conflicting and opaque assessments of Trump’s health after he contracted COVID-19.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Gram Slattery and Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Tom Hogue, Bill Berkrot and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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