White House releases memo describing results of Trump’s health checkup

Donald Trump has been grappling with “lower leg swelling” as well as “benign” hand bruising but remains in excellent health, the US president’s physician said in a memo released by the White House.

Citing the results of a recent examination, the memo from Dr Sean Barbabella said Trump “remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function”.

The memo, dated Tuesday and released late on Friday, asserted the president is “fully fit to carry out all duties” of the presidency.

Trump’s visit on Tuesday to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was his third in 13 months and fourth in his second presidency.

It was closely watched as the White House in the past year had to detail several of the president’s health conditions after pictures revealed at times swollen ankles, bruised hands and a blotchy neck.

Trump is also the oldest person ever elected to the White House, and his 80th birthday is on 14 June. Joe Biden was 82 and faced questions about his mental acuity when he left the Oval Office prior to Trump’s second presidency.

Trump maintained “everything checked out perfectly” shortly after his Tuesday visit to Walter Reed.

Barbabella’s memo said Trump had “slight lower leg swelling … with improvement from last year”. The president also had continued hand bruising described as “common”, “benign” and “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation related to frequent handshaking in the setting of aspirin use for cardiovascular prevention”, Barbabella added.

The memo did not address the reason for skin treatment in March on the president’s neck. It also did not say he underwent another magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam, as he did in October.

The memo from Barbabella said the president’s overall cardiac function is normal. Trump was said to have “a comprehensive neurological examination demonstrated normal mental status”, including screenings for depression and anxiety.

The memo attributed to Trump a height of 6ft 3in (190cm) and weight of 238lbs (108kg).

It added: “Preventive counseling was provided, including guidance on diet, recommendation to take a low-dose aspirin, increased physical activity and continued weight loss.”

Reuters contributed reporting