President Donald Trump’s doctor said he passed his annual health exam with mostly flying colors – but some health experts aren’t entirely convinced he’s in the clear.
After a medical appointment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Donald Trump told reporters that everything checked out “perfectly” and that his “cognitive and physical performance are excellent.”
His physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, backed that up in an official report, declaring the president in “excellent health” and “fully fit” to serve, noting that Trump underwent a CT scan, heart imaging, cancer screenings, and evaluations from 22 different specialists.
But one doctor flagged something in that report that he thinks deserves a much closer look, according to VT.
Donald Trump’s weight
Dr. Stuart Fischer, a practicing internist and former emergency room physician, zeroed in on Trump’s weight. According to the report, the president now weighs 238 pounds, a 14-pound increase since April of last year.
According to Tyla, Barbabella wrote: “Preventive counselling was provided, including guidance on diet, recommendation to take a low-dose aspirin, increased physical activity, and continued weight loss.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Fischer said: “Someone has got to really quietly sit down and talk with him, and say, ‘You’re playing with fire,’” he said.
Fischer suggested the jump in weight could point to something more concerning than an extra burger or two, but was quick to separate legitimate medical concern from online noise.
“This is potentially very serious”
He called some of the public speculation about Trump’s health “foolish criticism,” but warned that unexplained weight gain can, in certain cases, be an early indicator of “a malignant form of circulatory problem… early congestive heart failure.”
Congestive heart failure, or CHF, is a condition where the heart becomes too weak or too stiff to pump blood the way it should, causing fluid to accumulate in the lungs, legs, or abdomen. The Cleveland Clinic describes it as serious but manageable with medication and lifestyle adjustments.
Trump’s medical report does not say he has congestive heart failure. But Fischer’s point is that the heart can deteriorate quietly, well before any obvious symptoms show up.
“Maybe the heart is squeezing out a half or even a third in some people of what it should. This is potentially very serious,” he warned, according to VT.
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