President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, the White House announced Thursday.
The press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, shared a letter from Trump’s doctor at a press conference, which said Trump was examined after noticing the “slight” swelling on his legs.
Leavitt said the doctor described the condition as “benign” and “common”, particularly among adults over 70 years.
Leavitt added that the president is in “excellent health” and that the full letter of the doctor would be released soon.
This is what you need to know about the condition, what symptoms cause and how it is.
President Donald Trump attends the inaugural Energy and Innovation Summit of Pennsylvania at the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Pittsburgh, on July 15, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP through Getty Images
What is chronic venous insufficiency?
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a circulatory condition in which the veins in the leg have difficulty returning blood to the heart due to damaged valves.
“Unlike arteries, the veins have valves that help return blood to the heart,” ABC News told ABC News from the blood to the heart, “said ABC News.
She explained that there are larger veins, called deep veins, which return most of the blood to the heart, and there are superficial veins, which are just below the surface of the skin.
“When the valves fail, which means that they do not return the blood to the heart, the blood can go back in the leg, and that is essentially what venous insufficiency is,” Obi said.
This can cause blood to accumulate in the legs and lead to the inflammation of the legs.
CVI is quite common, which affects up to 40% of the American population, according to the Society for vascular surgery.
OBI said that this figure can be a substimacy because the CVI is not detected in any routine detection test, and patients often require a duplex ultrasound, a non -invasive image technique to evaluate blood flow and the structure of blood vessels, for diagnosis.
What are the symptoms?
Obi said that most patients with CVI have mild symptoms and the most common manifestation are varicose veins, which occur when superficial veins in superficial veins just below the skin.
The veins swell, which can be heavy, uncomfortable or painful for patients.
If patients have CVI in the deepest veins, they can experience the swelling of the legs around the ankle area and can extend to the knee, Obi said.
The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, speaks during an informative press session in the Brady Press Report Room at the White House, on July 17, 2025, in Washington, DC
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
In more severe cases, the darkening of the skin can occur and an open sore or ulcer can be developed.
“When the blood accumulates near the level of the ankle, it will obtain the discoloration, and it is a brown discoloration … and that brown discoloration is the result of the iron of the red blood cells that are grouped there and are collected by their immune cells,” Obi said.
Over time, this can make the skin thick and unable to heal a minor trauma, which is when ulcers form, he said.
How is it?
The treatments are typically non -surgical and are mainly to prevent swelling and ulcers, according to society for vascular surgery.
Obi said that if it is discovered that a patient has CVI by the way and has no symptoms, there is no need for treatment unless symptoms arise.
First -line treatment may include compression, such as using compression stockings or elastic wrapping. There are also supplements that patients can take to relieve symptoms, Obi said.
“Compression is the first thing that prescribes and then, in general, if a patient wishes surgical intervention or something, he would try compression first to see if they get relief,” he said. “If they are still symptomatic or cannot live their daily life, then I could advance on the way to do an intervention to try to help them improve their quality of life.”
If superficial veins are affected, patients can receive veins ablation, which is a minimally invasive procedure to close the veins and the elimination of varicose veins.
If deep veins are affected, some patients may require angioplasty to expand narrow or blocked veins, or stenting to restore blood flow.
Obi said that even if someone’s vein valves are prone to fail due to genetics or aging, walking can help overcome this.
“Your calf muscle will replace its valves, and its calf muscle will really push the blood towards your heart,” he said. “We tell all our patients: ‘You must do some type of walking program to keep that strong calf bomb. The worst thing you can do is stand for long periods of time and allow blood to accumulate.”
