{"id":1733,"date":"2025-07-18T00:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T00:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/1733\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T00:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T00:20:09","slug":"what-is-chronic-venous-insufficiency-trumps-diagnosis-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/1733\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency? Trump\u2019s Diagnosis, Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July 17, the White House announced that President Donald Trump was diagnosed with a condition called chronic venous insufficiency after he noticed swelling in his legs.<\/p>\n

According to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt<\/a>, Trump, who is 79, was diagnosed following an ultrasound of his legs; he does not have complications of the condition, such as deep vein thrombosis, and an echocardiogram indicated that he has normal cardiac structure and function.<\/p>\n

We asked experts what to know about the condition, including what it feels like and how it’s treated.<\/p>\n

What is chronic venous insufficiency?<\/p>\n

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) affects more than 25 million adults<\/a> in the U.S. It\u2019s one of the most common diagnoses that Dr. Ali Azizzadeh, professor and director of vascular surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and associate director of the Smidt Heart Institute, sees in his patients every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CVI occurs when the valves in the legs don\u2019t work correctly, which causes blood to pool, putting increased pressure on the veins. It tends to affect both legs, though it can occur in just one.<\/p>\n

Read More: 7 Myths About Cardiomyopathy\u2014Debunked<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have blood vessels that take the blood from the heart to the rest of the body\u2014those are arteries,\u201d Azizzadeh says. \u201cVeins are responsible for returning the blood from the rest of the body back to the heart. When somebody has chronic venous insufficiency, that means the veins are not working properly, and because of that, the blood\u2014instead of going up towards the heart from the legs\u2014can pool in the leg.\u201d That often leads to visible swelling in the ankles and feet.<\/p>\n

What causes the condition?<\/p>\n

There are a variety of risk factors for chronic venous insufficiency. The condition is most common in people who are middle-aged or older, since veins naturally weaken over time, says Dr. John Higgins, professor of cardiology at UTHealth Houston. Women are at heightened risk compared to men: \u201cIt\u2019s about 2 to 1 for women, and the reason for that is pregnancy, as well as the effects of hormones like estrogen and progesterone on the the valves,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Read More: 9 Weird Symptoms Cardiologists Say You Should Never Ignore<\/a><\/p>\n

Other risk factors include a family history of CVI, being overweight or obese, and having a history of blood clots in the legs. Standing for long periods of time can also play a role. \u201cWhen you stand up, there\u2019s more pressure on your veins than when you’re sitting or laying down,\u201d Higgins says. As for the president\u2014who is not a patient of Higgins\u2014\u201che\u2019s someone who\u2019s on his feet a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of symptoms and complications does it cause?<\/p>\n

The majority of the time, chronic venous insufficiency is little more than a \u201cnuisance,\u201d according to Dr. Sean Lyden, department chair of vascular surgery at Cleveland Clinic. \u201cFor most people, it’s nothing except for some leg swelling,\u201d he says. \u201cAs the day goes on, their leg swells more and more, so it feels tight, heavy, and bursting.\u201d By the time patients with CVI go to bed, they might notice the \u201cbig sock lines\u201d that indent skin where socks hit, a common thing among older adults, he adds. Some people also experience discoloration in their feet and ankles.<\/p>\n

When people have CVI for a long time\u201410 or 15 years\u2014they can develop hardening and thickening in the skin, which can eventually cut off the blood supply and lead to venous ulcers, Lyden adds.<\/p>\n

Generally, however, most people are able to successfully manage the condition, and it does not affect life expectancy. \u201cIt\u2019s a very common diagnosis, and it\u2019s not dangerous,\u201d says Azizzadeh. \u201cIt\u2019s more that it bothers the patient, with regards to the swelling and the pain and the discomfort.”<\/p>\n

Azizzadeh, who does not treat Trump, adds that CVI “doesn\u2019t impact [Trump\u2019s] prognosis in terms of life expectancy or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

How is chronic venous insufficiency treated?<\/p>\n

The most common treatment for chronic venous insufficiency is wearing 20-30 mmHg medical-grade compression socks, which push blood back up to the heart. \u201cYou put them on in the morning and you keep them on all day,\u201d Lyden says. \u201cIt stops the veins from dilating until they drain better.\u201d Most people with CVI need to wear these socks forever, though Lyden acknowledges that, in the summer heat, the extra layer can be unpleasant. People often don\u2019t put them on when they\u2019re going outside on hot days, which causes their legs to swell up again.<\/p>\n

People with CVI also benefit from elevating their legs above their heart during the day, which can be done by lying down and resting the legs on pillows or cushions, or on top of, for example, a coffee table or desk. Simple exercises can also make a positive difference. \u201cPumping your calf muscles helps,\u201d Higgins says. For those who are overweight, losing weight can improve symptoms.<\/p>\n

Read More: The 1 Heart-Health Habit You Should Start When You\u2019re Young<\/a><\/p>\n

In advanced cases, when conservative treatment doesn\u2019t sufficiently improve symptoms, some people undergo a minimally invasive outpatient procedure called venous ablation. \u201cIt\u2019s a very simple operation,\u201d Azizzadeh says. \u201cIt closes the leak,\u201d so blood no longer flows in the wrong direction. \u201cIt\u2019s very straightforward and successful.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, for the majority of people, CVI doesn\u2019t reach the point of requiring surgical intervention. \u201cThe bottom line is, it’s very manageable,\u201d Higgins says. \u201cMost people will do just fine with the conservative therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On July 17, the White House announced that President Donald Trump was diagnosed with a condition called chronic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,2542,137,500,1297],"class_list":["post-1733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-explainer","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-heart-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}