By MICHELLE L. PRICE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his vitality and well being in an interview with The Wall Road Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, throughout an October examination about which he and the White Home delayed providing particulars.
Trump, within the interview, mentioned he regretted present process the superior imaging on his coronary heart and stomach throughout an October go to to Walter Reed Nationwide Army Medical Heart as a result of it raised public questions on his well being. His doctor mentioned in a memo the White Home launched in December that he had “advanced imaging” as a preventative screening for males his age.
Trump had initially described it as an MRI however mentioned he didn’t know what a part of his physique he had scanned. A CT scan is a faster type of diagnostic imaging than an MRI however gives much less element about variations in tissue.
The president’s physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, mentioned in a press release launched Thursday by the White Home that Trump underwent the examination in October as a result of he deliberate to be at Walter Reed to satisfy folks working there. Trump had already undergone an annual bodily in April.
“President Trump agreed to meet with the staff and soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Hospital in October. In order to make the most of the President’s time at the hospital, we recommended he undergo another routine physical evaluation to ensure continued optimal health,” Barbabella mentioned.
Barbabella mentioned that he requested the president to bear both a CT scan or MRI “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues” and the outcomes have been “perfectly normal and revealed absolutely no abnormalities.”
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned in a press release Thursday that the president’s docs and the White Home have “always maintained the President received advanced imaging” however mentioned that “additional details on the imaging have been disclosed by the President himself” as a result of he “has nothing to hide.”
“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,” Trump mentioned within the interview with The Wall Road Journal revealed Thursday. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong.”
The 79-year-old grew to become the oldest individual to take the oath of workplace when he was sworn in as president final yr and has been delicate to questions on his well being, significantly as he has repeatedly questioned his predecessor Joe Biden’s health for workplace.
Biden, who turned 82 within the final yr of his presidency, was dogged the top of the his tenure and through his deserted try to hunt reelection over scrutiny of his age and psychological acuity.
However questions have additionally swirled round Trump’s well being this yr as he’s been seen with bruising on the again of his proper hand that has been conspicuous regardless of a slathering of make-up on high, together with noticeable swelling at his ankles.
The White Home this summer season mentioned the president had been identified with persistent venous insufficiency, a standard situation amongst older adults. The situation occurs when veins within the legs can’t correctly carry blood again to the center and it swimming pools within the decrease legs.
Within the interview, Trump mentioned he briefly tried sporting compression socks to deal with the swelling however stopped as a result of he didn’t like them.
The bruising on Trump’s hand, based on Leavitt, is from “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” which Trump takes repeatedly to cut back the chance of coronary heart assault and stroke.
He mentioned he takes extra aspirin than his docs suggest however mentioned he has resisted taking much less as a result of he’s been taking it for 25 years and mentioned he’s “a little superstitious.” Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin every day, based on Barbabella.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump mentioned. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
Trump, within the interview, denied he has fallen asleep throughout White Home conferences when cameras have caught him along with his eyes closed, as a substitute insisting he was resting his eyes or blinking.
“I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me,” he mentioned. “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”
He mentioned that he’s by no means slept a lot at night time, a behavior he additionally described throughout his first time period, and mentioned he begins his day early within the White Home residence earlier than transferring to the Oval Workplace round 10 a.m. and dealing till 7 p.m. or 8 p.m.
The president dismissed questions on his listening to, saying he solely struggled to listen to “when there’s a lot of people talking,” and mentioned he has loads of vitality, which he credited to his genes.
“Genetics are very important,” he mentioned. “And I have very good genetics.”
