Trump in excellent cognitive and physical health, says White House doctor

US President Donald Trump is in “excellent cognitive and physical health”, says his White House physician.

In the first annual physical of his second presidential term at a Washington DC-area hospital, Trump was also found to have scarring “on the right ear from a gunshot wound” after an assassination attempt last July.

“President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function,” his doctor, Captain Sean Barbabella, said in a memo.

At 78, Trump was the oldest president to take office in January, though his predecessor, Joe Biden, was older at 82 by the time he left.

As a part of Friday’s nearly five-hour medical examination at the Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, Trump received several blood tests, a cardiac examination and ultrasounds, said his doctor, a US Navy emergency physician who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“His active lifestyle continues to contribute significantly to his well-being,” Dr Barbabella wrote in the memo released by the White House on Sunday.

“President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”

The president received neurological tests on his mental status, nerves, motor and sensory function and reflexes and showed no signs of depression or anxiety, according to the memo.

Trump was also given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and scored 30 out of 30, said Dr Barbabella. The test is commonly used to detect cognitive decline and early signs of dementia and has tasks such as naming animals, drawing a clock and repeating words back five minutes later.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said he “got every answer right” on the cognitive test.

“Overall, I felt I was in very good shape,” Trump said. “A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul.”

He added that doctors had given him “a little bit” of advice on lifestyle changes to improve his health, though he did not provide details.

Dr Barbabella also said Trump had “minor sun damage” and a few “benign skin lesions”.

The president takes several medications to control his cholesterol – Rosuvastatin and Ezetimibe – as well as Aspirin for cardiac prevention and Mometasone cream for a skin condition, said the memo.

Trump’s cardiac examination showed “no abnormalities”, wrote Dr Barbabella.

The examination noted the president’s medical history of “well-controlled hypercholesterolemia”, a condition which can increase a patient’s risk of a heart attack.

Other conditions noted in his medical history included a past Covid infection, rosacea, which is a skin condition often causing redness in the face, and a benign colon polyp.

The president weighs 224lb (101kg) and stands 6ft 2.5in tall, according to the records from Dr Barbabella. Trump has shed some pounds since February 2019, when he weighed 243lb.

Under the Body Mass Index calculator, he would currently be categorised within the overweight range, and not obese.

The memo noted that the president’s “joints and muscles have a full range of motion”, while crediting his good health to an active lifestyle, including “frequent victories in golf events”.

It is the first medical report on Trump released to the public since a gunman tried to kill him at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July, grazing his ear with a bullet.

At the time, Trump’s former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson, released a report saying his injuries from the incident were superficial.

During Trump’s first term in office, a White House doctor said he was in good health but needed to lose weight and exercise.

On the campaign trail, Trump frequently attacked his rival, Biden, over his cognitive and physical health.

After a poor debate performance last year against Trump, Biden declined to commit to taking a cognitive test, which he said he had not undergone while in office.

SOURCE: CNN