Donald Trump diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, White House says amid speculations over bruises on his hand

The White House Thursday announced that President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with a chronic but benign vein condition amid ongoing speculations over his bruised hand. The White House said the president sought a medical examination for swollen legs which came up with the new finding.

"I know that many in the media have been speculating about bruising on the president's hand and also swelling in the president's legs. In the effort of transparency, the president wanted me to share a note from his physician ... all results were within normal limits," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.


"Recent photos of the president have shown minor bruising on the back of his hand. This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent hand-shaking and the use of aspirin," Leavitt said. Leavitt said Trump decided to share the note on his new health diagnosis with everyone. The president underwent a thorough evaluation after noticing swelling in his lower leg. The condition is benign and common among individuals over the age of 70. Leavitt announced that there is no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease.

Explaining the bruises on Trump's back of hand, Karoline explained that this is because of minor soft tissue irritation due to frequent hand shaking and the use of aspirin which Trump takes as part of standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.

The clarification from the White House came as a close-up of Trump's hand became the center of online chatter as his hand looked evidently bruised. The theory of handshaking was floated earlier too but it was dismissed by many experts.

Dr Neal H Patel, a doctor at Providence St Joseph Hospital, told the Daily Mail earlier this year that shaking hands is unlikely to have caused the damage. “I see a lot of patients who are businessmen, and I’ve never really seen them getting bruising from too much handshaking,” he said. “I guess it’s possible, but that would really not be on my list of ideas of what causes it.”