President Donald Trump had his physical exam today. The Press Secretary told us that he was in “excellent health.” The results will be in next week.
Actually, to be more precise “some of the details” will be in next week.
That could be because some test results are still pending (although most bloodwork will be avilable same day) or it could be because the President, like any patient, gets to decide what makes it out of his medical record and into the public domain and what does not.
We knew very little about candidate Trump’s health going into the election. Initially we learned he had a normal blood pressure, a low PSA (prostatic specific antigen), and he was taking a “low dose” of a cholesterol medication as well as 81 mg aspirin. I did find it odd that the dose of aspirin was spelled out but not the reportedly “low dose” of the statin. I mean if it were low why not be specific?
Later on we found out, as I predicted, that Trump was on Propecia for male pattern baldness (it can lower the PSA) and an antibiotic for rosacea.
We learned via that side-show hosted by Dr. Oz that Trump had some additional blood work performed after everyone started asking about his health. We never learned why this was necessary if he were the healthiest man alive. We also never learned why Trump had an echo if he was so astonishingly healthy, his dose of rosuvastatin, or why he needed his testosterone level checked? Testosterone levels should only be checked if there are signs and symptoms of hypogonadism, such as loss of body hair, sexual dysfunction, hot flashes, or gynecomastia (enlarged breasts).
Then again there was nothing for Oz to sell so he was less enthusiastic than usual.
I seriously doubt we will get anything new information wise regarding Trump’s health than what we received from Dr. Bornstein pre-election. This will not due to any bias of on the part of Dr. Ronny Jackson, who is physician to the White House. He has an excellent reputation and is not a Trump appointee as he has been White House physician since July 2013. We know what type of exam Dr. Jackson will perform and the testing by looking at Dr. Jackson’s last exam of President Obama in 2016.
The key statement for me is the “consent.” Trump will only release what he wants released. Anything we don’t already know will only be released if it is flattering. So we will hear about Trump’s (likely) normal blood pressure, his low PSA, his (likely) normal oxygen saturation and maybe about his resting heart rate. We will likely get his cholesterol and blood sugar levels if unchanged. If Trump’s BMI isn’t 29.5 (as reported by Bornstein in September, 2016) I doubt we will hear about his weight. We may find out if he has had a flu vaccine.
I doubt there will be anything more than a cursory mental status exam, the old “alert and oriented X 3” will be it if there is any mental status evaluation at all. I know many people question Trump’s mental health, but there is no test for medical incompetence for the Presidency. He is mentally fit to sign a medical consent form. Detailed neurospychiatric testing is required to look for early signs of dementia and a general physican cannot perform that tetsing.
Personally, I don’t believe we need a psychiatrist to tell us Trump isn’t competent to be President. His racism and complete lack of understanding of governmental affairs tell us that. Competence doesn’t have to be mental competence, after all I’m not competent to fly an airplane.
Can Trump be in excellent health? We never see him exercising or eating anything healthy, not even accidentally. As far as I know there is no definition of “excellent” health. If his blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, blood sugar, and EKG are all normal then he is in pretty good physical health for his age. Keep in mind that a lot of longevity is genetics and not smoking.
When the results are released all anyone has to do is compare Trump’s report side by side with President Obama’s last exam. Trump is 17 years old than Obama was at his last physical so he should have at least as thorough an exam and testing. If there is less information in Trump’s report versus Obama’s from 2016 my guess is that will be because the results are abnormal.
If there is a news conference I do hope the reporters have Obama’s last physical on hand for a handy refernce.
Dr. Jen Gunter 
Par for the course. The only info that Trump willingly admits to is something that flatters him. If he can’t brag about it, we won’t hear about it.
A calcium score of 98 is not “normal”. This score is determined by CT, and is an “additive” score, not a percentage. The only “normal” is zero; anything else means there is calcium buildup in the coronary arteries. (One wonders why Dr. Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon by training, would have glossed over this.) A score of 98 is in the huge “indeterminate risk” range; this is clearly why he takes the aspirin and statin. My own score is 55, and I do the same. The point is: unless the score is zero, there is (presumptively) coronary artery disease. – Bob Curtis, MD (Family Medicine, University of New Mexico)
Americans knew they were voting for a sexist mysoginistic bigot … it was all out there before the Nov. 8 and did it anyway. Even if he’s not in great shape it doesn’t actually matter. The fact that he got elected when he was so stunningly unfit for the job is mind blowing. I always believed Americans respected the office of president more than the that.
I agree with your post about he hasn’t not changed his personality and yet was elected by the people anyway. Combing through his medical reports and trying to discredit someone for using a medication for male pattern baldness is a waste of time. Why are people so focused on trying to further divide this country? I would much rather see all of that energy and intelligence put to use making progress and improving what is clearly broken or damaged.
I agree that” complete lack of understanding of government matters ” speaks to him not being competent to be president. But “racism” ?? It may be objectionable to you,
but nothing to do with competency.
I hope you’re joking.If you’re not, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Further to my comment:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/trumps-racism-is-more-than-rhetoric-it-forms-policy-and-ruins-lives/article37592879/
Don’t forget, Trump’s father had Alzheimer’s. Doesn’t that increase the risk factor for him? Trump is not going to allow anything to be released in that report that is detrimental to his bloated sense of self.
Hey he is 54, i’m 60 and who said at 60 you can’t satisfy a woman. All depend on your health. Drink Urine that will help.
Nothing is more romantic than a 60 year-old man with urine on his breath. Boy howdy, that’s the guy for me!
lol. You need to learn chemistry. Urine Breath? It will never happend. Maybe Blood breath.
Obama’s 54. Trump is 71.
I very positive will be Herpes 1 and 2 positive base on his sexual behavior. HPV positive also.
I thought constipation and hemorrhoids, given how much time he obv spends on the throne tweeting… That’s bad for you… – GI
How about trying something novel like sticking to the facts instead of the endless MSM style speculation on “if we see this then it might mean that but then again it also might mean something else and if Trump did this we might have that consequence but on the other hand we might not “. This post is a nothing burger.
As the media are not physicians they might find my post useful when the information is released on Tuesday. After all, the media gave Trump’s letter a pass until I worked it over.
What about his sexual health? He is fond of touching genitals of women. Could he satisfy Melania at this age?
I trust you’re not saying you find Trump’s probable behavior unusual.