Recent White house news shares that president Donald Trump of the US has a vein condition called chronic venous insufficiency. Chronic venous insufficiency or CVI is a condition in which your leg veins are damaged and can’t return blood to your heart properly, which can lead to pressure and strain on the vein walls. CVI is seen quite commonly in individuals over 70, have been pregnant, are overweight (which the president has been known to be), and have had a leg injury. In rare cases, doctors have been known to perform small surgical interventions to either repair or remove damaged tissue.

The symptoms include swelling, itching, pain, changes to the skin, ulcers, and bleeding or deep vein thrombosis (blood clotting). Trump’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, claims Trump still remains in excellent health. Photos also show makeup covering bruising on the back of his hand, bruising that Trump claims is from “shaking so many hands”, as well as his use of Aspirin, which is taken as a standard cardiovascular prevention regime, however, with the recent news, many suspect this bruising is related to his current condition. CVI affects around 10-35% of adults over 70 and very rarely becomes life threatening. Despite this information, the public still questions whether or not this condition will affect his ability to continue serving.  The question arose when recent photos showed the president with extremely swollen ankles, a common symptom seen with CVI. Something as simple as wearing compression socks or simply putting your feet up can help prevent swelling and irritation from CVI. However, president Trump refuses to take these steps of prevention. Not taking care of CVI can result in open sores and infections. 

The White house’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, says that the president is not experiencing any current discomfort and will continue to perform his duties.

NYMag Intelligencer , PBS NewsHour , 4 Things to Know , UVA Today Q&A) , UC Davis Health