White House doctor says Trump’s cardiovascular imaging ‘perfectly normal’

US President Donald Trump “remains in excellent overall health” after undergoing a “comprehensive executive physical”, according to his White House physician.

A memo written by Captain Sean Barbabella, dated on Monday, said that advanced imaging of the 79-year-old president’s heart and abdomen had come back “perfectly normal”.

The previous day, Trump said he had undergone an MRI scan, but had “no idea” which part of his body was being looked at.

Monday’s news comes as Democrats, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have been pushing for the results of the scan amid concerns about Trump’s age in his second term.

Barbabella’s memo wrote that the president was checked during a physical in October “because men in his age group benefit from thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health”.

There was no evidence of arterial narrowing impairing blood flow or abnormalities in Trump’s heart or major vessels, Barbabella said. The doctor added that overall, Trump’s cardiovascular system “shows excellent health”.

Likewise, the doctor, a US Navy emergency physician who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said results of Trump’s abdominal imaging showed that “everything evaluated is functioning within normal limits with no acute or chronic concerns”.

The doctor called the scan “standard” for an “executive physical” for someone at Trump’s age.

He referred to “advanced imaging results”, without clarifying whether or not he meant a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan specifically.

While travelling on board Air Force One on Sunday, Trump told reporters that it was “OK with me” to release the results of what he said had been an MRI.

When pressed by a reporter about which body part the MRI examined, Trump said: “I have no idea. It was just an MRI - what part of the body? It wasn’t the brain, because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.”

Trump underwent his annual physical screening in April.

In October, he said that he received an MRI at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The White House said the visit was part of his “routine yearly checkup”, though declined to explain why Trump had an MRI during a physical exam in October, or say what part of his body was scanned.

Trump said at the time that the MRI “was perfect”.

In Monday’s memo, Barbabella said the purpose of the scan was preventative, “to identify issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure he maintains long-term vitality and function”.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read the document during a news briefing on Monday.

“I think that’s quite a bit of detail in the effort of transparency,“ Leavitt said. “The president promised it last night and we have it delivered today.”

Two physicians who reviewed the memo told the BBC that MRIs were “not typically standard” for preventive care.

But some people do opt for testing which is outside standard age-based guidelines, said Dr Carla Perissinotto, a geriatrics specialist at the University of California San Francisco.

Dr Jeffrey A Linder, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, highlighted that Barbabella’s memo did not specify whether an MRI or computed tomography (CT) scan was performed, making it difficult to know exactly what was done.

He said routine anatomical imaging - whether MRI or CT - was generally discouraged in asymptomatic patients because the potential risks outweighed the benefits.

And even for executive physicals - which cater to busy professionals and include a host of additional tests - Dr Linder said it was uncommon for results to come back “perfectly normal” with no coronary calcification.

Trump has been seen with swollen ankles and bruising on his right hand and has been spotted appearing to doze off during meetings.

In July, the White House said that he had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a vein condition that can result in swelling in the legs.