--- title: Trump Diagnosed With Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Says description: Ultrasound confirmed chronic venous insufficiency in Trump’s legs, and hand bruising was attributed to handshakes and daily aspirin canonical: https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-17T18:43:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-07-17T22:20:38.000Z article:section: Health og:title: Trump Has Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Says og:description: Ultrasound confirmed chronic venous insufficiency in Trump’s legs, and hand bruising was attributed to handshakes and daily aspirin og:url: https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79302b8047ef3d5b/6998c84f07a30d5f2977d2c7/GettyImages-2224735530.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump Signs Bill To Toughen Penalties For Fentanyl Trafficking og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Has Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Says twitter:description: Ultrasound confirmed chronic venous insufficiency in Trump’s legs, and hand bruising was attributed to handshakes and daily aspirin twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79302b8047ef3d5b/6998c84f07a30d5f2977d2c7/GettyImages-2224735530.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Has Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Announces > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=fd5399fc-ea74-4f9a-ab70-5eda82d411dc&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Diagnosed With Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Announces [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Diagnosed With Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Announces](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cwIXaCfG.m3u8) (1:47)  _Published 2025-07-17. White House 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._  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jul 17, 2025 10:20 PM UTCPublished: Jul 17, 2025 6:43 PM UTC White House 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.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jul 17, 2025 10:20 PM UTCPublished: Jul 17, 2025 6:43 PM UTC White House doctors have diagnosed President [Donald Trump](https://time.com/7302995/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-jd-vance/) with [chronic venous insufficiency ](https://time.com/7303280/what-is-chronic-venous-insufficiency-trump/)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](https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/chronic-venous-insufficiency), 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 ](https://time.com/7303280/what-is-chronic-venous-insufficiency-trump/)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."  A close of Trump's right hand, including a bruise that appeared to be covered with makeup, as seen outside the White House, on July 16, 2025, in Washington D.C. Mehmet Eser—Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images While chronic venous insufficiency is not life-threatening, according to the [Cleveland Clinic](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16872-chronic-venous-insufficiency-cvi), 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. **Read more:** [_What Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency?_](https://time.com/7303280/what-is-chronic-venous-insufficiency-trump/) 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](https://time.com/7277105/trump-goes-to-walter-reed-for-first-physical-of-second-term/)" at the time, according to the White House. _—Angela Haupt contributed reporting._ ## Transcript [00:00] I know that many in the media have been speculating about [00:03] bruising on the president's hand and also swelling in the president's legs. [00:07] So in the effort of transparency, [00:09] the president wanted me to share a note from his physician with all of you today. [00:13] In recent weeks, President Trump noted mild swelling in his lower legs. [00:18] In keeping with routine medical care and out of an abundance of caution, [00:22] this concern was thoroughly evaluated by the white House Medical Unit. [00:26] The president underwent a comprehensive examination [00:30] including diagnostic vascular studies, [00:33] bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds [00:37] were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, [00:41] a benign and common condition, [00:44] particularly in individuals over the age of 70. [00:48] Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease. [00:54] Laboratory testing included a complete blood count, [00:57] comprehensive metabolic panel coagulation profile, [01:01] D-dimer, B-type natriuretic peptide, and cardiac biomarkers. [01:07] All results were within normal limits. [01:10] An echocardiogram was also performed and confirmed. [01:13] Normal cardiac structure and function. [01:16] No signs of heart failure, [01:18] renal impairment, or systemic illness were identified. [01:21] Additionally, recent photos of the president [01:24] have shown minor bruising on the back of his hand. [01:27] This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation [01:30] from frequent hand shaking and the use of aspirin, [01:33] which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen. [01:38] This is a well known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy, [01:42] and the president remains in excellent health, [01:44] which I think all of you witness on a daily basis here. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/"},"headline":"Trump Has Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Announces","datePublished":"2025-07-17T18:43:33.000Z","dateModified":"2025-07-17T22:20:38.000Z","description":"Ultrasound confirmed chronic venous insufficiency in Trump’s legs, and hand bruising was attributed to handshakes and daily aspirin","url":"https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/","keywords":["Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79302b8047ef3d5b/6998c84f07a30d5f2977d2c7/GettyImages-2224735530.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79302b8047ef3d5b/6998c84f07a30d5f2977d2c7/GettyImages-2224735530.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trump Signs Bill To Toughen Penalties For Fentanyl Trafficking","caption":"Trump Signs Bill To Toughen Penalties For Fentanyl Trafficking","creditText":"Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/","name":"Trump Has Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Announces"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"President Trump Diagnosed With Chronic Venous Insufficiency, White House Announces","description":"White House 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.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cwIXaCfG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-07-17T19:30:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cwIXaCfG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/","duration":"PT1M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7303153/trump-chronic-venous-insufficiency-leg-swelling-diagnosis/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```