Prime Highlights
- United States’ former President Donald Trump, aged 79, has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) after undergoing medical tests for bruising and swelling in legs.
- The conditions are confirmed to be non-lethal and can be treated through lifestyle changes.
Key Fact
- Defective vein valves in the legs create a condition in which blood gets clogged and swells up, thus leading to CVI.
- Trump’s test also ruled out life-threatening diseases like heart failure, deep vein thrombosis, or kidney problems.
Key Background
Donald Trump’s health came into doubt following recent photos of him with swelling in his ankles and bruising on his hand. White House officials disclosed that medical examinations uncovered chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), a common vascular condition, predominately in older adults. Trump’s age at 79 is not critical and presents no imminent health issue.
CVI is due to weakening or damage to veins’ valves in the legs, and the consequence is that blood is not able to return to the heart but instead is stuck in the lower limbs. It is most often accompanied by sensations of swelling, heaviness, discoloration of the skin, and varicose veins. Not too pleasant of a condition, but it can usually be cured without the need for surgery.
Trump also underwent complete diagnostic testing, such as Doppler ultrasounds of his legs and echocardiograms. They ruled out the possibility of such severe disorders as deep vein thrombosis, heart failure, or arterial disease. Bruising of the hands developed due to overhandshaking and blood-thinning medications like aspirin taken by his physicians.
Medical practitioners observe that CVI is unusual in individuals over 70 years of age, particularly those with a history of standing for extended periods, immobility, or other factors like obesity or the genetic transmission of vein disease. The disorder affects millions of individuals all over the globe but is deplorably rare to be life-threatening once properly treated.
CVI treatment in the majority of instances would be non-operative like the use of compression stockings, leg elevation, healthy weight, and exercise. In the more extreme instances, procedures like vein ablation and sclerotherapy would be recommended. Trump’s physicians have also indicated that his overall health is good and the condition is closely watched to prevent complications.
