Trump blames aspirin for bruised hand, says nothing is wrong with his health

US President Donald Trump, the oldest person ever sworn into office, has pushed back against his health concerns after revealing he takes a daily aspirin dose above medical advice and underwent a CT scan during an October visit to a military hospital. Trump disclosed that he takes 325 milligrams of aspirin every day -- more than his doctors recommend -- and said he has resisted advice to reduce the dosage.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said the decision to have a scan during an October visit to Walter Reed Military Medical Center became a source of political and media speculation, despite his insistence that there is “nothing wrong” with his health.

The US President clarified that he underwent a CT scan -- not an MRI -- during his October visit, correcting earlier statements in which he had described the test as an MRI and admitted he was unsure which part of his body had been examined.

A CT scan is typically faster than an MRI but provides less detailed images of soft tissue. Trump said the scan focused on his heart and abdomen and was conducted as a precaution.

His physician, Navy Captain Sean Barbabella, said in a statement released by the White House that the president agreed to the examination while already scheduled to be at Walter Reed to meet staff and service members. Trump had completed his annual physical earlier in April.

“President Trump agreed to meet with the staff and soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Hospital in October. In order to make the most of the President’s time at the hospital, we recommended he undergo another routine physical evaluation to ensure continued optimal health,” Barbabella said.

Barbabella added that he recommended either a CT scan or MRI “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues” and said the results were “perfectly normal and revealed absolutely no abnormalities”.

According to Barbabella, Trump has been taking aspirin regularly for 25 years. The US President said he was reluctant to change a long-standing routine.

“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump said. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”

TRUMP SAYS SCAN LED TO UNNECESSARY QUESTIONS

Trump told the Journal he regretted agreeing to the imaging, arguing it created doubts about his condition where none existed.

“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,” Trump said. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration had consistently stated the president received advanced imaging, adding that further details were disclosed because Trump “has nothing to hide”.

At 79, Trump is the oldest person ever sworn in as US president, a fact that has sharpened attention on his health. During the campaign and his return to office, Trump repeatedly questioned the fitness of his predecessor, Joe Biden, whose age and mental acuity became central issues toward the end of his presidency.

Biden, who turned 82 in the final year of his term, ultimately abandoned his re-election bid amid intense scrutiny.

However, Trump himself has faced questions this year, particularly after being photographed with visible bruising on the back of his right hand and swelling around his ankles.

WHITE HOUSE ADDRESSES TRUMP'S HEALTH CONCERN

The White House said earlier this summer that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older adults in which leg veins struggle to carry blood back to the heart, leading to pooling and swelling in the lower legs.

Trump told the Journal he briefly tried compression socks to manage the swelling but stopped using them.

The bruising on his hand, Leavitt said, is linked to “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin”, which Trump takes daily to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Trump also dismissed claims that he has fallen asleep during meetings, after cameras captured images of him with his eyes closed.

“I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me,” he said. “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”

He said he has never slept much, a claim he has made since his first term, and described a daily schedule that begins early in the White House residence before moving to the Oval Office around 10 am. He said he typically works until 7 pm or 8 pm.

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With inputs from Associated Press

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