Sanjay Gupta: By all standards, Trump has heart disease

CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, said Wednesday that he believes tests reveal that President Trump has heart disease.

Gupta said dating back to 2009, Trump started to have “these 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,” he said.

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

Gupta then talked about his interaction Tuesday with Trump’s doctor, Navy Rear Adm. Dr. Ronny Jackson.

{mosads}”It was interesting when I spoke to Dr. Jackson. At first he said he passed all the tests with flying colors,” Gupta said. “When I asked him specifically about that test, he did then concede that, in fact, the president does have heart disease.”

“They’re going to be increasing the medications, including the cholesterol-lowering medications to try and combat that, but there’s no question, by all standards, by all metrics, anyway a doctor or cardiologist will look at it, the president does have heart disease.”

Gupta said it’s controllable with medications, adding that Trump needs to have his diet under control.

“But he does have heart disease,” he said.

Jackson, who has served as the presidential physician since 2013, on Tuesday gave Trump a clean bill of health, declaring him physically and mentally fit for office.

He said that Trump’s “overall health is excellent,” adding that the president had mostly normal results on several tests of his cholesterol and heart health.

“His cardiac performance during his physical exam was very good, he continues to enjoy the significant, long-term cardiac and overall health benefits that come from a lifetime of abstinence from tobacco and alcohol,” Jackson said.