The White House has announced that US President Donald Trump is in "excellent health". But doctors flag missing medical details.
Trump, 79, underwent an annual medical examination at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26. Shortly after the test that lasted three hours, he shared that "everything checked out perfectly."
Dr. Sean Barbabella, physician to the president, in a memorandum released late last week, said that "President Trump is demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function." He added that Trump is "fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State."
However, doctors stated that the test results authorized by the President for public release contain notable gaps.
Questions Raised Over Cardiovascular Details
According to experts, the physical examination lacks detailed results from tests used to assess cardiovascular health.
Barbabella's description of Trump's cardiac health cites results from a coronary CT angiography, an echocardiogram, and an artificial-intelligence-enhanced electrocardiogram analysis.
Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Interventional Cardiologist, in a post on social media platform X, questioned the need for another coronary artery CT on Trump, as he was last scanned in October.
"We don't typically scan patients 6 months later unless we are concerned about a finding on the initial scan. What prompted the repeat CT?" he said.
Further, to fully assess the president's cardiac health, other doctors said they would want to see a calcium score, a description of any plaque in the arteries, and a CAD-RADS score to assess narrowing in the arteries, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"If I were creating a report to send to another physician, I would have mentioned a little bit more about the carotid ultrasound," William Shutze, a Texas vascular surgeon, was quoted as saying. "What amount of plaque there is going to be-because almost all of us are going to have some buildup there."
Also Read: President Donald Trump Remains In Excellent Health, Says White House
Too Good Cholesterol Results
Further, Trump's cholesterol numbers and medication regimen also attracted attention from physicians who reviewed the memorandum.
According to the report, his HDL (good cholesterol) level was 70 mg/dL, while his LDL (bad cholesterol) level was 53 mg/dL.
The report said Trump takes rosuvastatin and ezetimibe for cholesterol management.
"He's got like the best cholesterol numbers you'll see," said Daniel Torrent, adding that it is unusual for medication alone to achieve such favorable values. "We don't usually manage people to the point where they're that good."
"That report is almost too good to be true for somebody of his age," Shutze said. "This seems to be a filtered narrative."
Notably, neurological condition of Trump, the oldest elected as President of America, has remained a subject of serious discussion, with many doctors pointing out that he's suffering from dementia. But the test results revealed him to be in "normal mental status".
Cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was also within normal limits, with a score of 30 out of 30.
"Why was the president again given a MOCA dementia screening test? He's had 3 in the recent past," Reiner asked, while also questioning Trump's "more frequent than the traditional yearly exam?"
Also read: 'Sea Or See?' Donald Trump's Remark Sparks Fresh Cognitive Health Speculation
White House Responds
"President Trump has publicly released more detailed information about his health than any other president in history-showing he is in excellent health," White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a written statement.
He criticized outside physicians for speculating about a report for a patient not under their care, the WSJ said.
The White House added that "the absence of discussion regarding a specific medication, dosage, or historical medical condition should not be interpreted as a lack of monitoring or treatment".
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