'You scanned the wrong area': Doctor says Trump's new MRI claim makes no sense

A doctor has claimed the MRI scan Donald Trump received does not prove what he is saying about his clean bill of health.

Speaking with The Irish Star, medical director of Manual Dr Jeff Foster said what has been published by the White House team is very limited proof of what Trump is continually claiming in interviews. Captain Sean Barbabella claimed Trump's cardiovascular health is in "excellent" condition and that the recent testing at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center proves this.

In a written memo, Barbabella, the president's physician, claimed, "The heart chambers are normal in size, the vessel walls appear smooth and healthy, and there are no signs of inflammation, or clotting. Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health.”

Dr Barbabella would also claim the point of the MRI is "preventive" and is set to "identify issues early" rather than detail or treat ongoing health concerns. This, according to Dr Jeff Foster, is hardly possible.

He said, "The information provided gives a limited indication of cardiovascular health only. It doesn't even give a measure of heart disease."

"An MRI scan may give information about heart size, and heart failure, but you cannot see if arteries are blocked or damaged (it is not an angiogram), you cannot see if he has high cholesterol, diabetes or even high blood pressure. Most importantly, if the question is related to brain function and questions over competency, you have simply scanned the wrong area."

A fellow medical professional has said the results of the MRI and Trump's claim are "not plausible".

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who served as the cardiologist of former Vice President Dick Cheney for more than 30 years, said, "There‘s no chance that this was just sort of routine preventative care. First of all, it‘s not part of routine preventative care... They disclosed that he had a chest scan and an abdominal scan."

"The president‘s doctor didn‘t even disclose what kind of scan. The president said MRI, all that the president‘s physician said was advanced imaging. Did he have an MRI? Did he have a CT? Did he have both?"

"And what he didn‘t say is whether the president had a scan of his brain. He didn‘t say he didn’t, he just included some data from the chest and abdominal scans. So it‘s not plausible or really credible to believe that they just decided to do some preventative screening for a third time this year."