Doctors kept close eye on Trump's use of malaria drug

White House medical team kept a close eye on President Donald Trump's heart rhythms, including at least one electrocardiogram, to watch for potential side effects when he took a two-week course of a  malaria drug to try to prevent coronavirus, his doctor reported Wednesday.

“ President completed regimen safely and without side effects,” Dr. Sean Conley wrote in a report on Trump's latest physical and his treatment with hydroxychloroquine. Overall, Conley said, Trump showed little change in basic health measurements from 16 months ago. On negative side, he gained a pound. But on plus side, his cholesterol level continued to fall.

“ data indicates President remains healthy," Conley concluded.

Trump recently took a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine after two White House staffers tested positive for COVID-19. Conley said it was done in consultation with “appropriate care team members and close monitoring of electrocardiogram (EKG)," indicating that doctors were looking for changes in his heartbeat because abrmal heart rhythms are one of dangerous side effects that have been found in studies of drug. drug proved ineffective for preventing COVID-19 in first large, high-quality study to test it in people in close contact with someone with disease. Results published Wednesday by New England Journal of Medicine show that hydroxychloroquine was better than placebo pills at preventing illness from coronavirus. drug did t seem to cause serious harm, though -- about 40% on it h side effects, mostly mild stomach problems.

Trump has frequently has cited anecdotal reports and seemed determined to prove naysayers wrong. Trump was evaluated twice for physical, first in vember 2019 and n in April. He has a resting heart rate of 63 beats per minute. A rmal resting heart rate for ults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute, and generally, a lower rate implies better cardiovascular fitness.

His blood pressure came in at 121 over 79. American Heart Association says an elevated blood pressure range is when a reing for upper number consistently ranges from 120-129 and less than 80 for lower number. People with elevated blood pressure are likely to develop high blood pressure unless steps are taken to control condition. Trump has shown marked improvement in his cholesterol levels during his presidency, helped by medication. At his physical in January 2018, his total cholesterol was 223. In early 2019, reing came in at 196. It w stands at 167. president takes Rosuvastatin to help lower his b cholesterol, kwn as LDL, and to raise his good cholesterol, or HDL. Ideally, total cholesterol should be less than 200. Trump also takes aspirin daily and Finasteride, a drug to treat enlargement of prostate and male pattern hair loss. Aspirin reduces risk of heart attack and stroke in people at high risk for m..