Live | Trump To Undergo Annual Physical After Year Of Public Attention To Health Issues | N18G

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[00:00:08]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues. But questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[00:00:56]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[00:01:20]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[00:01:26]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. You know, uh pilots, uh secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[00:03:18]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[00:03:39]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[00:03:56]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[00:04:11]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues people in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues there is no escaping that, but then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[00:04:57]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[00:06:01]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[00:06:35]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[00:07:56]>> Is that true?

[00:07:57]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems.

[00:08:13]if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again, he says he has not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um, so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[00:08:50]>> And it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[00:09:08]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh, if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. the the concern uh often is look is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body and that that sort of brings up you know cardiac function overall which again they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern so we'll see if they talk about that today that's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter to Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[00:10:27]The president turns 80 years old next month and questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[00:11:15]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[00:11:39]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[00:11:46]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somn falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness.

[00:13:31]It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[00:14:16]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[00:14:31]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues people in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues there is no escaping that, but then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[00:15:17]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[00:16:20]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[00:16:55]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes >> is that true?

[00:18:17]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all uh aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[00:18:44]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[00:19:09]H I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[00:19:28]>> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[00:19:46]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[00:20:41]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[00:20:47]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[00:21:35]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[00:21:59]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[00:22:06]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is fit for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somnorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances. And uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[00:23:57]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[00:24:19]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime suance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[00:24:51]And at the time, he wrote he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[00:25:23]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[00:25:37]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[00:26:40]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[00:27:15]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff um cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that. But we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[00:28:35]>> Is that true?

[00:28:37]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems.

[00:28:52]if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again, he says he has not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um, so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[00:29:30]>> I It's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[00:29:48]>> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[00:30:06]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh, if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. the the concern uh often is look is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body and that that sort of brings up you know cardiac function overall which again they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern so we'll see if they talk about that today that's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[00:31:07]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[00:31:55]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[00:32:18]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[00:32:25]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somnorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances. And uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[00:34:16]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[00:34:38]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime suance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[00:35:10]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[00:35:43]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[00:35:56]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[00:37:00]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[00:37:34]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[00:38:45]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[00:38:55]>> Is that true?

[00:38:56]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[00:39:23]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[00:39:49]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[00:40:07]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[00:41:20]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[00:41:26]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[00:42:14]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[00:42:38]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[00:42:45]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somorms he falls asleep very awful he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances. And uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[00:44:36]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[00:44:58]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[00:45:30]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[00:46:02]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[00:46:16]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[00:47:19]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[00:47:54]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[00:49:04]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[00:49:14]>> Is that true?

[00:49:16]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[00:49:43]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[00:50:08]H and it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[00:50:26]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[00:51:40]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[00:51:46]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[00:52:34]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[00:52:57]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[00:53:04]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somores he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[00:54:55]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[00:55:17]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[00:55:49]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[00:56:22]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[00:56:35]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[00:57:39]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[00:58:13]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years.

[00:59:24]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[00:59:34]>> Is that true?

[00:59:35]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[01:00:02]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[01:00:28]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[01:00:46]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[01:02:00]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[01:02:05]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[01:02:53]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Riner. It's good to see you and worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[01:03:17]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[01:03:24]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somores he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances. And uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[01:05:15]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[01:05:37]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[01:05:54]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[01:06:09]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues people in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues there is no escaping that, but then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[01:06:55]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[01:07:58]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[01:08:33]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[01:09:43]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[01:09:53]>> Is that true?

[01:09:55]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[01:10:22]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[01:10:48]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[01:11:06]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[01:12:19]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[01:12:25]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[01:13:13]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Riner. It's good to see you and worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[01:13:36]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[01:13:43]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very awful he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[01:16:13]>> We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[01:16:28]And at the time he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said, "Oook it said, OG is something wrong." Well, nothing is wrong. And it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch 22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues. People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues.

[01:17:05]There is no escaping that but then saying that every time he does you know it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[01:17:14]Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. The White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[01:18:18]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[01:18:52]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[01:20:03]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[01:20:13]>> Is that true?

[01:20:14]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[01:20:41]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[01:21:07]H and it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[01:21:25]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[01:22:39]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[01:22:44]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[01:23:32]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[01:23:56]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[01:24:03]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to rious hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somnorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[01:25:54]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[01:26:16]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[01:26:33]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[01:26:48]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[01:27:20]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[01:27:34]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[01:28:37]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[01:29:12]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[01:30:22]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[01:30:32]>> Is that true?

[01:30:34]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[01:31:01]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[01:31:26]H I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[01:31:45]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[01:32:58]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[01:33:04]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[01:33:52]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[01:34:16]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[01:34:22]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to rious hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[01:36:14]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[01:36:36]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[01:37:08]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[01:37:40]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[01:37:54]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[01:38:57]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[01:39:32]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot, frankly. And there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean, the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016, he said something to the effect of, "Who knows, President Trump could live to 200 years old." I mean, it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point, but let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of.

[01:40:11]It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff um cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit that that's kind of it Becky we know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes >> is that true?

[01:40:54]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all uh aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you ha if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[01:41:21]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[01:41:46]H I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[01:42:04]Well, >> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[01:42:23]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[01:43:18]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[01:43:24]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[01:44:12]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you and worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[01:44:35]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[01:44:42]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is fit for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somores he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[01:47:12]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[01:47:27]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[01:48:00]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[01:48:13]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[01:49:16]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him I think um go in today. This is the oldest US president in history of course. What do we know about his health Sanjay? Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot, frankly. And there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean, the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016, he said something to the effect of, "Who knows? President Trump could live to 200 years old." I mean, it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year.

[01:50:16]As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months. But his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of.

[01:50:30]It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff um cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit that that's kind of it Becky we know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes >> is that true?

[01:51:13]>> Well, it can be I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all uh aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you ha if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[01:51:40]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[01:52:05]H I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[01:52:24]Well, >> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[01:52:42]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[01:53:37]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[01:53:43]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[01:54:31]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[01:54:55]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[01:55:02]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is fit for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somns he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[01:57:31]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[01:57:47]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[01:58:19]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[01:58:33]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[01:59:36]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[02:00:11]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[02:01:31]>> Is that true?

[02:01:33]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems.

[02:01:48]if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again, he says he has not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um, so it's questionable why he's taking it if he needs it. Certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[02:02:26]>> I It's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[02:02:44]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past, they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh, if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. the the concern uh often is look is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body and that that sort of brings up you know cardiac function overall which again they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern so we'll see if they talk about that today that's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[02:04:03]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[02:04:51]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[02:05:14]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[02:05:21]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somorms he falls asleep very awful he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[02:07:12]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[02:07:34]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[02:07:51]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[02:08:06]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues people in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues there is no escaping that, but then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[02:08:52]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[02:09:56]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[02:10:30]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[02:11:51]>> Is that true?

[02:11:52]>> Well, it can be I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems.

[02:12:08]if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again, he says he has not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um, so it's questionable why he's taking it if he needs it. Certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[02:12:45]>> I It's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[02:13:03]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past, they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh, if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. the the concern uh often is look is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body and that that sort of brings up you know cardiac function overall which again they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern so we'll see if they talk about that today that's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[02:14:22]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[02:15:10]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[02:15:34]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[02:15:41]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somns he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[02:17:32]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[02:17:54]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[02:18:11]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[02:18:26]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues people in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues there is no escaping that, but then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[02:19:12]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[02:20:15]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[02:20:50]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[02:22:00]>> There has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[02:22:10]>> Is that true?

[02:22:12]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track, Becky. it's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[02:22:39]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[02:23:05]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[02:23:23]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[02:24:36]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[02:24:42]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[02:25:30]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Riner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[02:25:53]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[02:26:00]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very awful he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So, it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[02:28:30]>> We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[02:28:45]And at the time he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said, OG took it said, OG is something wrong." Well, nothing is wrong. And it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch 22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues. People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues.

[02:29:22]There is no escaping that but then saying that every time he does you know it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[02:29:31]Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. The White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[02:30:35]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him I think um go in today. This is the oldest US president in history of course. What do we know about his health Sanjay? Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot, frankly. And there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean, the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016, he said something to the effect of, "Who knows? President Trump could live to 200 years old." I mean, it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year.

[02:31:34]As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of.

[02:31:48]It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff um cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[02:32:30]>> Is that true?

[02:32:31]>> Well, it can be I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems.

[02:32:47]if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again, he says he has not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um, so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[02:33:24]>> I It's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[02:33:42]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh, if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. the the concern uh often is look is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body and that that sort of brings up you know cardiac function overall which again they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern so we'll see if they talk about that today that's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[02:35:01]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[02:35:49]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Riner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[02:36:13]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[02:36:20]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very awful he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So, it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[02:38:50]>> We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[02:39:05]And at the time he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said, OG took it said, OG is something wrong." Well, nothing is wrong. And it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch 22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues. People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues.

[02:39:41]There is no escaping that but then saying that every time he does you know it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[02:39:51]Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. The White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[02:40:54]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[02:41:29]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[02:42:39]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[02:42:49]>> Is that true?

[02:42:51]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. it's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[02:43:18]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[02:43:44]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[02:44:02]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[02:45:15]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[02:45:21]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[02:46:09]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Riner. It's good to see you and worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[02:46:32]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[02:46:39]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very awful he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it can increase uh depression, anxiety. So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[02:49:09]>> We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[02:49:24]And at the time he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said, OG took it said, OG is something wrong." Well, nothing is wrong. And it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch 22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues. People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues.

[02:50:01]There is no escaping that but then saying that every time he does you know it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[02:50:10]Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. The White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[02:51:14]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[02:51:48]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, cholesterol-lowering medications, as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years.

[02:52:59]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[02:53:09]>> Is that true?

[02:53:10]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[02:53:38]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[02:54:04]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[02:54:21]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[02:55:35]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[02:55:41]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[02:56:28]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Riner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[02:56:52]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[02:56:59]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[02:59:29]>> We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[02:59:44]And at the time he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said, OG took it said, OG is something wrong." Well, nothing is wrong. And it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch 22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues. People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues.

[03:00:20]There is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does you know it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[03:00:30]Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. The White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[03:01:33]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[03:02:08]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[03:03:18]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[03:03:28]>> Is that true?

[03:03:30]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[03:03:57]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[03:04:23]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[03:04:41]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[03:05:54]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[03:06:00]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[03:06:48]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Riner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[03:07:12]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[03:07:18]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[03:09:10]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[03:09:32]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[03:09:48]>> We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[03:10:04]And at the time he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said, OG took it said, OG is something wrong." Well, nothing is wrong. And it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch 22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues. People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues.

[03:10:40]There is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does you know it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[03:10:50]Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. The White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[03:11:53]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[03:12:28]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[03:13:38]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[03:13:48]>> Is that true?

[03:13:50]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[03:14:17]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[03:14:43]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[03:15:00]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[03:16:14]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[03:16:20]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[03:17:08]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you and worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[03:17:31]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[03:17:38]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people. It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety. So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[03:20:08]>> We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[03:20:23]And at the time he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said, "Oook it said, OG is something wrong." Well, nothing is wrong. And it's he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch 22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues. People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues.

[03:21:00]There is no escaping that but then saying that every time he does you know it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[03:21:09]Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. The White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[03:22:13]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[03:22:47]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[03:23:58]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[03:24:08]>> Is that true?

[03:24:09]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[03:24:36]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[03:25:01]H and it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[03:25:20]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[03:26:33]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[03:26:39]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[03:27:27]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[03:27:51]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[03:27:58]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to rious hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[03:29:49]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[03:30:11]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[03:30:43]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[03:31:15]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[03:31:29]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[03:32:32]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[03:33:07]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years.

[03:34:17]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[03:34:27]>> Is that true?

[03:34:29]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[03:35:22]And it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[03:35:39]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[03:36:53]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[03:36:59]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[03:37:47]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[03:38:10]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[03:38:17]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somnorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[03:40:08]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[03:40:30]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[03:41:02]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[03:41:35]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[03:41:48]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[03:42:52]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So we've seen him I think um go in today. This is the oldest US president in history of course. What do we know about his health Sanjay? Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot, frankly. And there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean, the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016, he said something to the effect of, "Who knows? President Trump could live to 200 years old." I mean, it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year.

[03:43:51]As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months, but his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of.

[03:44:05]It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well uh which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that. But we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on >> Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[03:44:47]>> Is that true?

[03:44:48]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems.

[03:45:04]if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again, he says he has not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um, so it's questionable why he's taking it if he needs it. Certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[03:45:41]>> I It's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[03:45:59]>> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past, they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[03:46:17]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh, if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. the the concern uh often is look is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body and that that sort of brings up you know cardiac function overall which again they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern so we'll see if they talk about that today that's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[03:47:18]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[03:48:06]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[03:48:30]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[03:48:37]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to rious hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances and uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[03:50:28]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[03:50:50]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day and I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that. We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[03:51:22]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[03:51:54]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[03:52:08]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality and we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[03:53:11]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[03:53:46]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years.

[03:54:56]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[03:55:06]>> Is that true?

[03:55:08]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[03:55:35]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[03:56:01]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[03:56:19]>> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[03:56:37]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[03:57:32]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[03:57:38]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[03:58:26]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[03:58:50]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[03:58:56]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somnance he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances. And uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[04:00:47]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[04:01:09]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[04:01:26]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[04:01:41]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[04:02:14]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[04:02:27]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[04:03:31]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[04:04:05]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years.

[04:05:16]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[04:05:26]>> Is that true?

[04:05:27]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[04:05:54]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[04:06:20]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[04:06:38]>> Well, I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing. About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[04:07:52]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[04:07:57]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[04:08:45]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[04:09:09]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[04:09:16]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somnorms he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances. And uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[04:11:07]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[04:11:29]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[04:11:46]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[04:12:01]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[04:12:33]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[04:12:47]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why they took the president there. His uh physician uh later said that he went there for preventative uh testing, which really makes makes no sense because it creates the kind of of concern and speculation uh that uh that occurs when the president in a almost unannounced way goes to Walter Reed for uh unusual testing.

[04:13:50]>> President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Trump is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[04:14:25]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And uh I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot frankly and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016 he said something to the effect of who knows President Trump could live to 200 years old. I mean it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned he's had three visits over the last 13 months. His comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of. It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications uh mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the testing that he's had over the years.

[04:15:35]>> There has been much made of bruising, Sanjay, that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands, and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[04:15:45]>> Is that true?

[04:15:47]>> Well, it can be. I I mean, it it does track, Becky. possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again he says he is not. So one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose.

[04:16:14]When you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[04:16:40]I it's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[04:16:58]Well, >> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic Venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[04:17:16]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body, goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. The the concern uh often is look, is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body? And that that sort of brings up, you know, cardiac function overall, which again, they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern. So, we'll see if they talk about that today. That's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for.

[04:18:11]>> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[04:18:17]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[04:19:05]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you. And worth stating, of course, Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[04:19:29]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[04:19:35]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this, you know, during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns, his bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime somnance he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day conservances. And uh chronic insomnia is a severe uh illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive uh effects in older people.

[04:21:26]It's equivalent to about increasing uh your age by about three and a half years. It increases your cardiac risk of having a heart attack or developing congestive heart failure. And it in and it it can produce uh a decline in uh uh your uh sort of mental functions like it could increase uh depression, anxiety.

[04:21:48]So it's a it's a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day. And I'd like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president uh has this in increased daytime somnance and what they're doing to improve that.

[04:22:05]We have also, you know, Trump back in January, I was looking back, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, Dr. Reiner, that he actually regretted getting the cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan that he did back in October because of speculation that it sparked.

[04:22:20]And at the time, he wrote, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it and said OG took it said OG is something wrong well nothing is wrong and he seemed to present be presenting something of a catch22 of getting you want the president to be getting frequent checkups especially when the fact of the matter is as you get older you do face medical issues.

[04:22:53]People in their late 70s and 80s they will have medical issues. there is no escaping that. But then saying that every time he does, you know, it's it sparks some some wild speculation. What do you make of it?

[04:23:06]>> Well, first of all, we've never had an adequate explanation of why the president went to Walter Reed in October for offcycle testing. The the president's team hates taking the president to Walter Reed. Uh and they only take the president uh there when there is testing that they need to do that cannot be accomplished at the White House. the White House has a predigious capacity to to test and treat uh the president and and his uh and and his team. Uh so you only go to Walter Reed when you need something like a CAT scan or an MRI scan or some other uh invasive uh modality. And we've never it's never been adequately explained why President Trump expected to have his annual physical today at Walter Reed Medical Center. Last October, he had an MRI at Walter Reed. Officials have not released the details of that exam. They did say it was part of a routine yearly checkup despite his annual physical happening earlier in the year. Mr. Drum is the oldest American president to take office. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining us now live. So, we've seen him, I think, um, go in today. This is the oldest US president in history, of course. What do we know about his health, Sanjay?

[04:28:05]>> Well, we we we've know what they've told us, Becky. And, uh, I say it that way because they haven't told us a lot, frankly, and there's been things that they've told us that have been so hyperbolic. I mean, the first time I interviewed his doctor back in 2016, he said something to the effect of, "Who knows? President Trump could live to 200 years old." I mean, it's it's so it's very hard to decipher is my point. But let me show you some of the specifics from April of last year. As you mentioned, he's had three visits over the last 13 months. But his comprehensive physical showed his age, his weight, slightly elevated blood pressure, sun damage to his skin, and then this Montreal cognitive assessment exam, which you've no doubt heard of.

[04:28:44]It's a screening exam. Um, and he says he got a perfect score on that. He takes medications, uh, mostly for for cardiac heart stuff, um, cholesterol-lowering medications as well as aspirin as well, uh, which is something that he's talked about quite a bit. That that's kind of it, Becky. We know his father died of Alzheimer's at 93 and had symptoms for seven or eight years before that, but we don't know much more than that other than some of the the test that testing that he's had over the years. H >> there has been much made of bruising Sanjay that we've seen on Donald Trump's hands and he says it's because of that aspirin that um you've uh just reported that he takes.

[04:29:25]>> Is that true?

[04:29:27]>> Well, it can be. I I mean it it does track Becky. It's possibility. Um I will say this first of all aspirin even though it's a relatively common you know medicine people everyone knows aspirin it's not typically recommended for people to prevent uh cardiac problems.

[04:29:43]if you have if you haven't had some sort of cardiac problem in the past. Uh again, he says he has not. So, one question is why is he then being prescribed this aspirin? And second of all, the dose when you typically take this to prevent problems, you're taking 81 milligrams, a baby aspirin essentially. Uh he's talked about the fact that he takes a dose four times that, an adult dose. Um, so it's questionable why he's taking it, if he needs it, certainly at that dose, but in terms of causing the bruising on his hands, it is possible. Aspirin sort of thins the blood or or makes it harder for the blood to clot.

[04:30:20]>> I It's well worth having this discussion because we can bring up a bunch of things, not least the president being diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency in July. Can you just explain what that is and as a diagnosis and and and how concerned he should be, let alone, you know, the US public?

[04:30:38]>> I I preface every answer again, Becky, by saying this is what they've told us, right? Um, and you know, in the past they've told us things that have been either overly simplistic or simply not in in accordance with reality. But with regard to chronic venus insufficiency, it's it's a relatively common thing.

[04:30:56]About one in 20 people have it. It's more common as you get older. People may have noticed even if they take long distance flights, their feet and their ankles swell up. Um, it's sort of the same process here. Blood circulates from your heart through your body goes to the veins in your legs, your feet. Uh, if the veins aren't if they if they're not sufficient in terms of pushing the blood back up, that blood can start to pull and you get swollen ankles and feet, which is exactly what they're saying is happening here. the the concern uh often is look is the heart not pumping the blood adequately to sort of circulate it through the entire body and that that sort of brings up you know cardiac function overall which again they have said repeatedly uh now for many years that he has no heart problems despite the fact that testing in the past has shown some concern so we'll see if they talk about that today that's certainly going to be one of the big things I'm looking out for >> President Trump is set to leave the White House to head to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical.

[04:31:57]The president turns 80 years old next month. And questions about Trump's physical and mental fitness have followed him since before he entered office. You will remember that letter from his then personal physician back just in in 2015 that famously stated this. If elected, Mr. Trump can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. It was later learned that Trump dictated that line himself. But in recent months, now fast forward to today, the White House and the president have been fielding new questions about some of the phys visible injuries like bruising seen on the president's hands, swelling at the president's ankles. The White House explaining both as minor and benign issues, but questions persist as this White House has long been at best opaque about the president's health.

[04:32:45]With us right now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. It's good to see you and worth stating, of course, Dr. Dr. Riner, as you well know, as you've worked for worked with and around white houses in the past, that presidents are not legally obligated to release anything about their health. Whatever is disclosed is done by choice. But still, what should happen, would you say, with this annual physical for the president?

[04:33:09]How should the exam be different for a president who is turning 80 in June?

[04:33:15]>> Yeah. Well, well, Kate, this is really a a tradition. The tradition for the annual physical exam uh really was started by Richard Nixon in the in in the aftermath of Eisenhower's large heart attack. But the uh president and his team are not legally required to uh release information to Congress or the public. And I think that really should change. There are so many roles in our society that require annual assessments of physical capacity. you know, uh, pilots, uh, secret service agents, school bus drivers, and for the chief executive of this country and the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, we should have a uh, clear understanding that the president is for duty. I do want to see this during this uh examination a credible explanation for his visible uh health concerns. His bruising which initially was described as due to vigorous hand shaking which is not credible. uh his severe uh edema in his ankles which was described as you know uh chronic venus insufficiency when just three months before one year ago he was uh his examination disclosed that he had no edema which would then make it acute chronic acute venus insufficiency which is an entirely different thing and finally the president has severe daytime sommons he falls asleep very often he's fallen asleep in the oval office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room and was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial