• Posted December 3, 2025

White House Says Trump’s Imaging Looks Normal; Doctors Question the Testing

The White House released new medical information about President Donald Trump on Monday, saying recent imaging tests showed he is in “excellent overall health.”

But some medical experts say the notice raised more questions than answers.

In a short memo, Dr. Sean Barbabella, the president’s physician, said the tests looked at Mr. Trump’s cardiovascular system and abdominal region and showed no signs of disease.

The White House described the scans as “advanced imaging tests,” though the memo did not explain exactly what type of tests were used.

Mr. Trump, who is the oldest president to take office, had imaging tests in October as part of a semiannual physical exam. His full annual exam was done in April, The New York Times reported.

When asked by reporters over the weekend what part of his body had been scanned, Mr. Trump said he had an MRI, adding that it was not a scan of his brain.

The memo, however, did not mention an MRI at all.

Instead, Barbabella wrote that men in the president’s age group "benefit from a thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health," which he described as part of a "comprehensive executive physical."

These exams are often offered to executives and can include testing that's not typically recomended for people without symptoms.

According to the memo, President Trump's cardiovascular imaging is “perfectly normal" and shows no signs of narrowed arteries or reduced blood flow.

His abdominal scans were also described as normal.

Some doctors say the lack of detail makes it hard to understand what was actually done — or why.

Dr. Ron Blankstein, a preventive cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said that most people without symptoms do not get imaging as part of routine checkups.

He noted the memo’s phrase “no evidence of arterial narrowing limiting blood flow,” may suggest a cardiac stress test.

During this type of scan, patients receive medication to increase blood flow before being imaged, often with specialized MRI equipment.

A normal result is reassuring, he said, but does not completely rule out heart disease.

Dr. Jeffrey Linder, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said the memo left him confused.

“There is nothing standard about an executive physical,” he told The Times.

He added: “There is no medical specialty that recommends that an otherwise asymptomatic individual get imaging.”

Linder explained that unnecessary tests can carry risks, including false alarms that send people through more testing and even unnecessary treatment.

“There are real harms,” he said.

Earlier this year, Barbabella noted that Mr. Trump also takes two cholesterol-lowering medications.

More information

You can read past memorandums from The White House Physician here.

SOURCE: The New York Times, Dec. 1, 2025