Trump's aspirin regimen stuns ER doc: 'That's what we give people having a heart attack!'

[turbinetree]

By Daniel Hampton
Published January 1, 2026 6:13 PM ET

President Donald Trump's startling comment about the eye-popping amount of aspirin he's popping every day floored an emergency doctor on Thursday, who told CNN viewers that's the same amount they administer to people having a heart attack.

Dr. Jeremy Faust, editor in chief of Medpage Today and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School, joined CNN's "The Arena" on New Year's Day to discuss new Wall Street Journal reporting on the president's health.

The Journal published a lengthy piece describing Trump as showing some signs of aging, while insisting he remains in excellent health and high energy. Trump told the outlet he takes a higher daily dose of aspirin — 325 mg — than his doctors recommend.

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-health-2674841681/

Hell dude why not 750mg.............so that you can have thin thin thin blood ................would that not make less oxygen available for the brain or what's left of it.................

[Tetrachloride]

1. i used to take aspirin

i applaud the plan

[turbinetree]

4. I take aspirin because because my doctor told me that 81 mg would not cause further damage to my heart

[Tetrachloride]

15. my platelet count is my concern so I stopped

[hlthe2b]

2. Shhh. I know, but with his blood as thin as water, the first tumble down the stairs of AF1

and we will ALL be put out of our misery.

[Hugin]

19. Mums the word...

Heck, even a mild nap jerk in the Oval Office could have us scrambling for the bubbly.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

44. Internal bleeding....

Is the #1 concern for Doctors whose patients are on Aspirin and/or Blood thinners.

Before my husband died, his Internist and Cardiologist cut his dosage down and took him off aspirin. We had an appointment for the Watchman procedure in early May, but it was too late. Once he entered Hospice in mid April, all upcoming appointments were cancelled. Restorative care at that point was useless.

Should TACO take a fall, the chances for internal or external bleeding increases. We already know he is experiencing muscle weakness and swelling in the ankles/legs. Muscle weakness is a serious side effect of BAD Cholesterol lowering medications. I wonder what his LDLs(Bad cholesterol) would be without Statins.

TACO is a time bomb waiting to go off!

[Bluestocking]

3. I am guessing he has no idea what meds he is taking

Someone else keeps track and gives him the meds on a schedule and he just takes them.

[erronis]

17. Yup. And they're slipping the uppers/downers in as needed.

The Kremlin sent their best doc to help with the meds - Pikup Andropov.

[rubbersole]

25. Funny.

[usedtobedemgurl]

41. I miss Car Talk.

[electric_blue68]

45. I loved those guys, and i don't even drive.

[dem4decades]

5. I wish RFKJr was his doctor and not real doctors.

[belpejic]

32. An RFK Jr. prescription

Would include heroin, HGH, horse paste, and a gusano de maguey...

[dem4decades]

43. No worm in the brain?

[DET]

6. Knowing Trump

I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes a combination of aspirin, acetominophen, and ibuprofen and calls them all aspirin.

[RockRaven]

7. He's a manly man, he doesn't want any of that wussy "baby aspirin"

Is it any wonder that the guy nicknamed Donnie Two Scoops thinks that more is necessarily better?


Also, FWIW, both the headline and lede are clickbaity BS. Nobody competent would be "stunned" or "floored" by a patient taking a 325mg instead of an 81mg. People do shit like that all the time, for a variety of reasons -- good or bad -- especially narcissistic morons like The Dotard.

[lamp_shade]

8. BRAIN BLEED

[NotHardly]

22. WE could only hope.

[Ars Longa]

9. Hey Trump, you know more than the stupid Doctors!!

If 325mg is good 1300mg will be 4 TIMES as good!!!!

Just like everything else--You know you can just "Wing It"!!

You are the Effing BOSS,,Go For It Man!!

[maxrandb]

42. This would be an example of "I did my own research" I could support

[Henry203]

10. Take a whole bottle

Call me in the morning.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Of Course, We Are All Assuming...

...that he didn't just make this up.
Plenty of evidence that he does that. Every single day.

[Iggo]

29. Yep. Same guy who said prices went down by 600 percent.

[belpejic]

33. Lutnick math...

Similar to a Kavanaugh stop...

[Deuxcents]

12. Keep on self medicating..what do doctors know?

[NJCher]

20. That's pretty much his attitude

I read the article in the WSJ and it was one long parade of him doing whatever the f#*k he wants. He would be a nightmare patient.

The article told his McDonalds meals which, yeah, sounds like he is still having once a day. Three sandwiches: Big Mac, fish sandwich and a qtr lb-er WITH cheese. Large coke.

[Ilsa]

34. Three McD sandwiches in one meal?

Or is there no WH chef to make even one meal for him?

[NJCher]

35. Sure there's a chef but

He is paranoid about being poisoned so he changes around the McDs he orders from.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. Orangehead would be better off with Royal Jelly

That much aspirin will eat arteries.

[niyad]

23. Gee, that would be such a shame.

[mackdaddy]

14. Taking two 'baby' aspirin a day prescribed by my Dr. put me in the hospital getting a transfusion.

So a standard aspirin dosage for preventative heart/stroke issues is one 81mg tablet a day. (A standard adult tablet is 325mg) The aspirin a day recommendations have been changed in the last few years and now they recommend it only if you have had or at serious risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

So 15 years ago my doctor at that time told me to take TWO 81mg tablets a day. I actually questioned him about it as I had seen a tv doctor (I think Dr Oz ffs) say to never take more than one a day. My doc insisted I should take two as I was a big guy nearly 300lb.

This started in January and my stamina really dropped to where I had to stop a catch my breath on a short hill in front of my house. I kept complaining but he said it was just my weight and my blood work had been very good earlier so it did not need to be retested.

This progressed to getting worse and I actually passed out once getting up from a chair too fast. I started hearing this whooshing sound in my ears and sent to an ENT for testing. Nothing. Sonogram of my neck, clear arteries. Oh well.

Was coming up on end of the year and was asking about other testing as this was not normal for me. Schedule a heart stress test and they did the dye heart imaging thing and then they wanted me to do a brisk 5 minute walk on a treadmill. I told them I could not do that as I had to stop and catch my breath just walking in the building. They did not believe me and put me on the treadmill. After about a minute I was about to pass out and they saw that and stopped the test. Hooked me up to some monitors and did an ultrasound of my heart where they decided I had leaking heart valves. They then just kicked me out of the office as they did not want me to drop there.

I called my Doc as asked if there were some blood tests I could have. He said no as the ones earlier in the year were fine.

I had not had a colonoscopy ever so scheduled one a week or so later since I had more that paid my deductible for the year. Went in for the procedure and the Gastroenterologists took one look at me while I was being prepped and said this man's pallor does not look right, take a blood sample an have it tested while we are doing the procedure. I guess I looked grey. Hand he colonoscopy and no problems.

Was getting dressed afterward and the nurse came in all concerned and told me not to get dressed as I had extreme low iron anemia and had to be checked into the hospital. She though I would be upset but I was like "YES" finally a real diagnosis.

Checked in an once they got a line started was in for two days and received four pints of whole blood. There are several iron measurements, I think this was ferritin which should be at 12 to 16. You have to be above 8 to bot be hospitalized. I was at 3.8. My girlfriend who had driven me to the colonoscopy was taking a break and heard two nurses talking about me and they could not believe I walked in the place under my own power. Had upper GI scope and other tests but no GI leaks. Took the four pints of new blood to get me to the 8.0 level to leave.

Stopped taking the aspirin (duh) and took otc iron supplement and my levels were back up to above 14 in about a month. I could again hike the hills on my property.

I went to another heart specialist a year or two later to repeat the heart tests so they would not be 'preexisting conditions'. No problems on the treadmill and the doc himself did the sonogram and said I had no heart valve leaking problems.

15 years later and I am in my late sixties and hike 4 plus miles a day on my 24 acres which has a rise of 200 feet from low to high parts.

So not having any red blood cells can be a bit of a problem. Maybe RFK jr can get ole Donny to up his meds a bit more. I mean he is only taking four times the maximum daily long term dose.

[NJCher]

16. Wow, what a story

Those medical people behaved despicably when they tossed you out of the office.

Glad you are ok now. 🙂

[mackdaddy]

30. Later I tried calling the original heart clinic to change their diagnosis of heart issues with the new evidence.

They bluntly refused to even consider it. That is the reason I went to a different heart clinic to be re-tested to not have the pre existing thing hanging over me. The new clinic was very diligent in the re test when I told them the story.

I changed primary care docs after everything settled down too. I just never trusted him the same.

[NJCher]

36. Things like that can happen

I’m going to show your story to my brother.

He has a similar issue with medical people who will not listen.

[moniss]

18. The docs now recommend not taking the aspirin once

you hit a certain age. It turns out there are more GI problems once you hit that age and beyond.

[Submariner]

37. Brains bleed

My PCP freaked when he found out at 75 I was still taking the 81 mg aspirin, when 70 is the recommend age to stop because of the risk of brain bleeds.

[GoCubsGo]

21. Please remember that Trump is a pathological liar.

Just because he said it, that doesn't mean it's true. For all we know, he's not taking any aspirin. Which is no longer recommended as a preventative for heart attacks, btw. I wouldn't be surprised if he's taking some other blood thinner that he thinks is aspirin, because he's stupid and addled. The fact that he's bragging about the dosage, as if he's accomplishing some big feat, tells me he's full of shit.

[33taw]

24. Will all MAGA follow his advice?

[AverageOldGuy]

27. 3 x 81mg 243 mg

I’m an EMT. When patients complain of chest pains (sometimes accompanied by shortness of breath) I first ask if they are on blood thinners.

No, then 3x81mg aspirin, one at a time, chew and swallow, wait a minute or two then take the second and third .

Meanwhile run an ECG. If heart attack (STEMI) is indicated start on 3 nitro tablets, one at a time, 5 minutes apart. Transport emergency or call for air evac if that’s faster .

If other heart abnormality shows up - AFIB, VFIB - continue the 3 x 81mg and transport. Monitor ECG, perform cardiac pacing but only if ECG shows bounding arrhythmia.


If he’s taking 3x81mg his doc is using aspirin in place of blood thinner. He may already be on blood thinner.


Regardless, given the IVs in his hand, swollen lower legs, clear confusion, and drowsiness, Trump is one sick puppy. He’s a few heartbeats away from a big one, either heart attack (STEMI) or stroke. The aspirin and/or blood thinners are intended to keep blood pressure down to take load off heart and in attempt to avoid cerebral hemorrhage leading to fatal bleed in brain .

[Sympthsical]

39. Yep

If a patient at the hospital has aspirin in the MAR, it is 81mg doses 99% of the time.

[mwmisses4289]

28. Standard aspirin tablets is 325 mg. (looking at the bottle on my shelf).

For people 12 and older, directions on how to take is 1 or 2 tablets every four hours; or 3 tablets every six hours, not to exceed 12 tablets in a 24 hour period, unless otherwise indicated by a doctor. It is a pain reliever. Since I can't take anything else, I take aspirin, usually no more than 1, sometimes two, a day.

[womanofthehills]

38. I have pain in one leg from lots of injuries to that leg

No ACL, 2 breaks & rattlesnake bite

I take 400 or 500 mg of aspirin every morning along with rubbing on my THC homemade body cream. Studies say if you take your aspirin with the amino glycine, it will not bother your stomach.

Warnings say just not to go over 1400 mg in a 24 hour day if you take it for arthritis.

I don’t get why the Dr thinks 325 mg is a big deal when everything I read says to stay under 1400 mg a day & night.

[Safe as Milk]

31. How easy to forget: Donny is a compulsive confabulator and liar.

He throws shit out of his mouth daily. Assume that nothing he says is true, and you'll do just fine. What? He doesn't know the difference between an MRI and a CT Scan?? HE'S LYING! If he is simply morbidly uninformed, he should no longer be driving or wiping his ass. Come on!

[HAB911]

40. Up the dose! X3 for better health!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

46. Maddowblog-Amid health questions, Trump changes his story in weird and unexpected ways

“I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart,” the president said. “Does that make sense?” Actually, no.

Amid health questions, Trump changes his story in weird and unexpected ways - MS NOW

apple.news/ACCZHgso8Qfi...

— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-01-02T15:24:34.236Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/amid-health-questions-trump-changes-his-story-in-weird-and-unexpected-ways

While it’s possible that there was no cause for concern, Trump’s unfortunate record made it difficult to give him and his team the benefit of the doubt. It was against this backdrop that the president spoke to The Wall Street Journal about these questions, and his comments advanced the story in weird and unexpected ways. From the report:

President Trump is taking more aspirin than his doctors recommend. He briefly tried wearing compression socks for his swelling ankles, but stopped because he didn’t like them. And he regrets undergoing advanced imaging because it generated scrutiny of his health.

‘In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,’ Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on his decision to get a cardiovascular and abdominal scan in October.

Broadly speaking, there are a handful of key takeaways from the reporting and interview......

The president, the Journal went on to report, “has at times eschewed the advice of his doctors and scoffed at the medical community’s widely accepted health recommendations.” This is especially true when it comes to aspirin, which he chooses to take daily and which apparently causes him to bruise easily. In fact, the president acknowledged applying makeup to his hands to obscure discoloration.

“His skin is so delicate that Pam Bondi, now his attorney general, caused his hand to bleed when she nicked him with her ring while giving him a high-five at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee,” the article noted......

Stepping back, the president’s comments were hardly out of character. Throughout his decadelong political career, Trump has repeatedly expressed his disdain for science and medical evidence on everything from the climate crisis to vaccines to Covid-19 treatments, so it stands to reason that Mr. Inject Disinfectants is going to prioritize his superstitions and baseless assumptions about “nice, thin blood” over the recommendations of those who know what they’re talking about.

The trouble is, this is the same president who believes he has the credibility and expertise needed to give the public guidance on, among other things, how much Tylenol to take and what child vaccination schedules should look like.

In other words, Trump’s comments to the Journal weren’t just important in their own right, they were also a timely reminder to the public that his judgment on matters related to health are better left ignored.