STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The White House has acknowledged that President Trump has a chronic condition affecting the veins in his legs. The administration disclosed this after people online called attention to photos showing the president with swollen ankles, among other symptoms. NPR's Will Stone is here to tell us more. Will, good morning.
WILL STONE, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK, so what does the White House now say is the president's diagnosis?
STONE: Well, the president has what's called chronic venous insufficiency. And put simply, this is when the blood in your veins has trouble getting pumped back up to the heart. And as a result, the blood can start to accumulate. It can start to pool in your legs, causing swelling, as we've seen with President Trump. And specifically, this has to do with the valves in your veins not working all that well. Here's how Dr. Niten Singh described it to me. He's a vascular surgeon at the University of Washington.
NITEN SINGH: The veins, particularly in the lower extremity, are very thin-walled structures. And they have valves so that when you stand up, all the blood doesn't rush to your feet. These valves close. But over time, these valves can become dysfunctional.
STONE: And this dysfunction most often happens just as a result of getting older. The condition can also be due to a blood clot, what's known as deep vein thrombosis. And of course, a clot can be serious. Although, it's also possible the clot happened years earlier. And that ends up damaging the valves and causing problems later on. The president's doctor did check for a blood clot using an ultrasound and found no evidence of that. They also did not see any signs of arterial disease. And his doctor concluded President Trump remains, quote, "in excellent health."
INSKEEP: We're obliged to note here the president has said for a decade that he is in excellent health and has faced many questions over the years about exactly how much he discloses of what his doctors may or may not find. But let's talk about the condition itself. Is this common, as the president's press secretary contends?
STONE: Yeah, it's not unusual at all. The numbers out there vary quite a lot. There are estimates that anywhere from 10% to more than 30% of adults are affected, and it's much more prevalent in older adults. Although, other risk factors are smoking, obesity. Genetics can also play a role. And the symptoms are swelling, obviously, which can build up over the course of the day. There can also be itching, dryness, pain. People can have these bulging purple- or blue-looking veins called varicose veins and brown discoloration on their skin.
INSKEEP: Now, granting that many people have this, can it sometimes be serious?
STONE: It can. All the vascular experts I spoke with said, generally, it's not a big deal. Of course, it can be uncomfortable. But for a minority of people - less than 15%, depending on their risk factors - it's not so benign. They can have serious complications where they develop these painful ulcers on their legs. Dr. Anahita Dua is a vascular surgeon at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. This is what she told me.
ANAHITA DUA: In some people who have severe chronic venous insufficiency, over time, because that blood pools for so long, they start to get ulcers of the legs. And those ulcers can be very difficult to heal. Based on the description of the president and what was said in terms of the mild swelling, it's unlikely that he will ever have those symptoms.
STONE: Now, in rare cases, these ulcers can even get infected. People may need to get surgery. But Dua says most who have chronic venous insufficiency can manage it simply by wearing compression socks or stockings that help push that blood back up to their heart.
INSKEEP: NPR health correspondent Will Stone. Thanks so much.
STONE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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