White House pushes back on claim that Trump has heart disease

The White House on Wednesday pushed back against reports suggesting that President Trump may have a form of heart disease after the president’s doctor claimed that his patient’s health was “excellent.”

In a press briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the administration stood by the assessment of Trump’s doctor, Navy Rear Adm. Dr. Ronny Jackson, who vouched for the president’s health on Tuesday.

“He is the only doctor that has weighed in on this matter that has actually examined the president,” Sanders said. “So I think a doctor that has spent the amount of time with the president as Dr. Jackson has is not only the most qualified, but the only credible source when it comes to diagnosing any health concerns.”

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The pushback from the White House came after CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said Wednesday he believes Trump’s past medical tests reveal that the president has heart disease. 

Starting in 2009, Trump began undergoing “tests that are actually looking for the presence of calcium in the blood vessels that lead to the heart.”

“Steadily, up until just this past week when he had it performed again, those numbers have gone up,” Gupta said.

“When they get to a certain range … that means he has heart disease.”

Jackson, who has served as the doctor to former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, examined Trump last week. He said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Trump’s “overall health is excellent.”