Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON, Jan 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he takes more aspirin every day than his doctor recommends.
“They say aspirin helps thin the blood, and I don’t want thick blood flowing through my heart,” Trump told the newspaper in an interview published Thursday. “I want good, thin blood flowing through my heart. Does that make sense?”
Trump, 79, is the second-oldest ever president after his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, who abandoned his 2024 re-election bid amid questions about his fitness for the office and was 82 when he left office a year ago.
Trump’s health has been in the spotlight in recent months due to bruises discovered on his hands, reports of him undergoing an MRI in October and instances of the Republican president closing his eyes at public events.
Taking a daily aspirin can reduce the chance of a heart attack or stroke in people over 60, according to the Mayo Clinic, which says low-dose aspirin is most commonly 81 milligrams.
The president’s physician, Sean Barbabella, told the Wall Street Journal that Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin daily to prevent heart disease.
The bruises were the result of his repeated handshakes, according to the White House, which said last month the MRI was precautionary.
When asked about the MRI, Trump and Barbella told the Wall Street Journal that the president actually underwent a CT scan.
Trump’s doctors initially said they would order an MRI or CT scan, Bababella said, but decided to do the latter “to definitely rule out any cardiovascular issues.”
Bababella said nothing unusual was found.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Scott Malone and Frances Kerry)
