Trump says he takes more aspirin than recommended: Is that dangerous?

United States President Donald Trump takes a higher daily dose of aspirin than his doctors recommend, he has revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

This is what we know about Trump’s aspirin habit and what happens if you take too much aspirin:

What did Trump say about taking aspirin?

Trump, 79, told the US newspaper that he takes a higher dose of aspirin every day than doctors have recommended.

The physician to the president, Sean Barbabella, said the president takes 325mg of aspirin daily for cardiac prevention – considered at the high end of dosage for this purpose.

“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump told the paper.

“I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”

He added: “They’d rather have me take the smaller one [dose]. I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”

Trump told the newspaper that he has been taking the larger dose of aspirin for 25 years.

Trump is the second oldest person to serve as US president after Joe Biden, who was 82 when he left office in January and pulled out of his re-election campaign in 2024 amid rising concerns about his health.

Concerns about Trump’s health have also arisen after bruises were spotted on his hands in the summer.

In July, Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt described as a “benign and common condition” in which damaged veins prevent blood from flowing properly.

Leavitt said the bruises were “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen”.

Additionally, in October, it was reported that Trump had undergone an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan. The White House said the MRI was “preventative”.

The WSJ report, however, stated that Trump and his doctor said he had received a CT (computed tomography) scan, not an MRI.

“It was less than that. It was a scan,” Trump said.

What is aspirin?

Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It has antiplatelet, or blood-thinning, properties.

It can be bought over the counter or prescribed by a doctor. It is usually prescribed for pain, fever and inflammation caused by immune responses to infections.

Additionally, low doses are prescribed to people at risk of heart attacks and strokes because it helps prevent blood clots from forming. It does this by inhibiting the production of a substance called thromboxane A2 within platelets, which are the blood cells responsible for clotting.

Thromboxane signals the platelets to clump together. When there is less thromboxane in the system, there is a lower chance of blood clots and a lower chance of heart attacks or strokes, which happen when blood flow is blocked to the heart and brain, respectively, by clots.

Does aspirin produce side effects?

Common side effects of aspirin use include mild indigestion and bleeding more than usual, according to the website for the National Health Service (NHS), the United Kingdom’s publicly funded healthcare system.

The website recommends contacting a doctor in case of serious side effects, such as coughing up blood or the whites of the eyes turning yellow.

Aspirin can also cause ulcers in the stomach or gut if it is taken for a long time or in high doses, according to the NHS.

What is the ‘normal’ daily dose of aspirin?

According to the NHS, aspirin is usually available in 300mg tablets and the usual dosage for headaches and other pain or fever is one or two tablets, taken every four to six hours.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that adults aged 40 to 59 at risk of cardiovascular disease start treatment with a much lower dose of aspirin of 81mg per day.

The USPSTF is an independent panel of experts that reviews medical evidence and issues recommendations on preventive health services, such as screenings, counselling and medicines.

The panel says the cardiovascular benefit of taking aspirin diminishes in older adults as the risk of excessive bleeding increases with age.

“For patients who are eligible and choose to start taking aspirin, the benefits become smaller with advancing age, and data suggest that clinicians and patients should consider stopping aspirin use around age 75 years,” the USPSTF says.

The health information website Healthline states that doctors may recommend a daily dose of 81mg to 325mg for people who have had or are at risk of conditions that include heart attacks and strokes.

Can you take too much aspirin?

A Healthline article reviewed by clinical pharmacist Dr Alan Carter states that people can experience aspirin poisoning if they take more aspirin than their body can clear.

There can be mild, moderate or severe forms of this, depending on the amount of aspirin and a person’s body weight.

Mild poisoning can take place if a person has taken less than 300mg of aspirin per kilogramme of body weight in one go.

Moderate poisoning takes place if a person has ingested 300mg to 500mg of aspirin per kilogramme of body weight in one go. Severe poisoning takes place when the aspirin exceeds 500mg per kilogramme of body weight.

Based on these numbers, if a man weighing 90kg took 45,000mg of aspirin in a single dose, it would likely be life-threatening.

However, “chronic” toxicity can also occur in someone who regularly takes aspirin for a long period of time, depending on how well their kidneys and liver are able to process it.

Symptoms of aspirin overdose include burning throat pain, decreased urination, double vision, drowsiness, fever, hallucinations, nervousness, restlessness, ringing in the ears or inability to hear, seizures, stomach pain, uncontrollable shaking and vomiting.

An aspirin overdose can cause death within one day.  An overdose can make blood dangerously acidic, disrupting the body’s regular functioning. It can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, making it hard to breathe. It can increase body temperature and cause the heart, kidneys and other organs to fail.