The White House has released details about President Donald Trump’s recent MRI amid heightened scrutiny over the 79-year-old leader’s health, saying the scan was “preventive” and the results came back “perfectly normal.”
Trump’s White House physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, said in a memo on Monday that the MRI was performed because men in the President’s “age group benefit from a thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health.”
“The purpose of this imaging is preventive: to identify issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure he maintains long-term vitality and function,” Barbabella said. He went on to say that the results of both Trump’s cardiovascular imaging and abdominal imaging were “perfectly normal.”
“There is no evidence of arterial narrowing impairing blood flow or abnormalities in the heart or major vessels. The heart chambers are normal in size, the vessel walls appear smooth and healthy, and there are no signs of inflammation, or clotting. Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health,” Barbabella said. “All major organs appear very healthy and well-perfused. Everything evaluated is functioning within normal limits with no acute or chronic concerns.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in October that he had undergone an MRI when he visited the military hospital Walter Reed Medical Center for his yearly check up, but didn’t share additional details about what part of his body was scanned or why the test was performed. Both the timing of the “yearly” visit—which came just six months after the President’s last known medical screening in April—and the news of the MRI fueled long-swirling questions about the state of Trump’s health.
The President and others in his Administration have maintained that he is in excellent health. But he has faced mounting speculation on the subject for months. Despite many calls from voters and politicians for him to release his medical records during his campaigns, Trump repeatedly refused to do so, a decision that sparked renewed controversy during his 2024 run last year.
Questions then swirled earlier this year over visible swelling in the President’s ankles and bruises on his hands. Over the summer, the White House revealed that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a non-life-threatening condition that occurs when veins in the legs have trouble allowing blood to flow to the heart. It can lead to severe complications if left untreated, but Barbabella said at the time that the President showed no signs of issues like deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease.
Trump and the White House for weeks didn’t share further information on the President’s MRI after he first spoke about it to the press. On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he would release the results of the scan “if you want to have it released,” though he again didn’t specify which part of his body underwent the screening.
“It was just an MRI,” he said. “What part of the body? It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.”
A day later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read from Barbabella’s memo during a press briefing.
“I think that’s quite a bit of detail in the effort of transparency,” she said. “The President promised it last night and we have it delivered today.”
