Never one to do things by halves, the US president, Donald Trump, recently offered up a lengthy insight into his health to The Wall Street Journal, where he revealed he takes a daily dose of 325mg of aspirin, which is a higher one than his doctors would like. (According to the NHS, the usual daily dose to prevent a heart attack or stroke is 75mg.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019d rather have me take the smaller one [dose],\u201d said Trump, who turns 80 this year and last year was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, where your veins have trouble moving blood to your heart. \u201cThey say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood and I don\u2019t want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 RFK on Trump\u2019s health: \u2018I don\u2019t know how he\u2019s alive\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n He\u2019s also told New York Magazine that his high dose \u201cworks for me. I\u2019ve been doing it for 30 years, and I don\u2019t want to change.\u201d<\/p>\n Colin Berry is a professor of cardiology and imaging at the University of Glasgow and served as director of the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence until 2024. \u201cThe prescriber [of Trump\u2019s dose] is entitled to their view,\u201d he says. \u201cWhether it\u2019s the president of the United States or anyone else, who am I to provide judgment?\u201d<\/p>\n What are the benefits of aspirin?<\/p>\n Berry says that there have been well-established studies that show a daily dose of aspirin can help to prevent heart attacks and stroke. \u201cAnd, secondly, there is a growing body of evidence that indicates aspirin may prevent cancer and prevent the reoccurrence of cancer. The anticancer action of aspirin is something we\u2019re beginning to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n A 2021 study from researchers at Cardiff University found that taking aspirin alongside cancer treatments could cut a patient\u2019s risk of dying by 20 per cent, as well as helping to reduce the risk of cancer spreading. Professor Peter Elwood, who led the research, said he was \u201cstruck by the actions of aspirin on the biological mechanisms relevant to cancer\u201d. While in 2024 researchers at the University of Southampton found that taking regular aspirin can reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 20 per cent, and 40 per cent for those with diabetes (according to Cancer Research UK, those with type 2 diabetes are about twice as likely to develop it).<\/p>\n