White House on Friday published a memo from President Donald TrumpA doctor summarizes his visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center earlier in the day, which included a Covid booster vaccination and a flu shot.
Trump's physician, Sean P. Barbabella, said in a one-page document that Trump “remains in exceptional health, demonstrating strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological and physical performance.”
Trump's visit to Walter Reed was described in the memo as a “planned continuation,” which White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt on Wednesday described as “his routine annual review” – even though it was Trump's visit to Walter Reed. second such visit after passing annual medical examination in April.
Memo said Friday's examination was part of Trump's “ongoing health plan.” The president underwent “extensive testing, laboratory tests and routine medical examinations,” his doctor wrote.
Barbabella described the labs as “exceptional, including stable metabolic, hematological and cardiac parameters.” He described Trump's “heart age” as “about 14 years younger than his chronological age.”
In that case, doctors used an electrocardiogram, or a test that checks the heart's electrical activity, to estimate Trump's cardiac age. This can be done in combination with artificial intelligence or other tests to better understand the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Barbabella said Trump, 79, received a flu shot and a Covid vaccine booster “in preparation for upcoming international travel.” Trump plans to travel to the Middle East on Sunday after helping secure Ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas This week.
Covid vaccinations have become harder to get under the Trump administration. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated my Covid Vaccination Guide on Monday, limiting its vaccine recommendations to only people 65 and older or people with chronic health conditions — and only after consulting with doctors, nurses or pharmacists. The change comes after many states set their own vaccine guidelines, creating a complex landscape of patchy vaccine policies that have made it more difficult to find a shot depending on where a person lives.
Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill signed off on the change based on recommendations from the agency's vaccine advisory panel, which Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. overhauled earlier this year after firing all of its members and replacing them with his own picks.
Former CDC Director Susan Monares testified at a Senate committee hearing Last month, Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, pressured her to approve the panel's vaccine recommendations in advance and was “upset” when she refused to do so.
Trump's visit to Walter Reed also comes a month after he debunked rumors that he was in poor health due to a persistent bruise on the back of his hand and after not appearing in public for several days in a row.
Trump diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a non-life-threatening condition that causes blood to pool in the legs, in July. This condition can cause swelling, pain, changes in skin color, and in some cases can lead to the development of ulcers.
Trump became the oldest person elected US president in November. At the time, he was just a few months older than Joe Biden when he was elected four years earlier.
