White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday that President Donald Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency.
The condition affects millions of Americans, and is not a serious health threat. However, it can be painful and disabling.
Chronic venous insufficiency occurs when a person’s leg veins don’t allow blood to flow back up to the heart, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“Normally, the valves in your veins make sure that blood flows toward your heart. But when these valves don’t work well, blood can also flow backwards. This can cause blood to collect (pool) in your legs,” it said.
If left untreated, patients may experience pain, swelling, cramps, skin changes, varicose veins, and leg ulcers.
People more likely to have the condition include those who may be pregnant, overweight, have a family history of the problem, and had damage to their legs following an injury, surgery, or previous blood clots. The condition is common in people older than 70.
Other causes may include high blood pressure in the leg veins due to sitting or standing for long stretches of time, a lack of exercise, smoking, a blood clot in a deep vein, and swelling and inflammation of a vein close to the skin.
Symptoms include swelling in the legs or ankles, a tight feeling in the calves, itchy or painful legs, pain when walking that stops when you rest, varicose veins. restless legs syndrome, painful leg cramps or muscle spasms, and leg ulcers that may be hard to treat.
Leavitt said that the president, 79, had noticed “mild swelling” in his lower legs and had been evaluated by the White House medical unit.
She noted that testing had shown “no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease” and that blood clots had been ruled out.
To treat chronic venous insufficiency, doctors recommend wearing compression hose and regular exercise to improve blood flow in leg veins. Some medicines and procedures may also be effective, especially in more severe cases.
With reporting from The Associated Press
