At a press briefing Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that President Trump has a circulatory condition called chronic venous insufficiency. The diagnosis was made after observers noted swelling in his lower legs and what appeared to be bruising on his hands. Leavitt said the announcement was made in the name of transparency and the evaluation was done out of an abundance of caution; still, the surprising news had many people scrambling to find a doctor who could describe what the 79-year-old commander-in-chief can expect in the way of treatment. Dr. Yan Katsnelson is the founder and CEO of USA Vein Clinics. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to describe what happened to the President, and what he does next.
Dr. Katsnelson explained to host Larry Mendte why Trump could have suffered from far worse maladies than a venous issue: “President Trump has a very common condition called superficial venous insufficiency. About 30% of adults at his age suffer from this condition. It’s basically from congestion caused by a broken valve and preventing the return of venous, or used, blood to the heart. President Trump works very hard; he stands a lot, he travels a lot on a plane, and he’s tall, he’s not very thin, and this will exacerbate the problem with the legs. It’s very common, easy to diagnose, and I’m glad it’s just a venous insufficiency, not a heart problem, not a kidney problem. The reason it’s good is because it’s easily treatable.”
Dr. Katsnelson says the condition is common enough that some patients can even self-diagnose, though an ultrasound is more conclusive: “If someone has bulging veins, varicose veins, swollen legs, discoloration, brownish-red, thick skin, cramps, 99% it will be veins, because it’s very, very common… the important thing is [the ultrasound] needs to be done in a standing position because we need to check how the valves work against gravity.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images