Sex Effects of Aspirin

Many baby boomers take aspirin to ward off cardiovascular disease, with good chances of success. However, different benefits of aspirin in men and women have now been confirmed by an analysis of published studies reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

For both men and women, aspirin (75 to 500 mg daily – 100 mg on alternate days in one study) was linked to a significant reduction in cardiovascular events – heart attack, stroke, sudden cardiac death, or severe angina. But in women there was a significant (17%) reduction in strokes (the ischemic, or blockage type); other events weren’t influenced. In men, there was a 32% reduction in heart attacks, but not of other cardiovascular events. The risk of bleeding was increased in both sexes.

The ‘numbers needed to treat’ analysis is interesting: aspirin taken for an average of 6.4 years will result in 3 fewer cardiovascular events per 1,000 women, and 4 fewer per 1,000 men. These have to be offset against the possible damage from an increased risk of bleeding, especially in the stomach and intestines. Take your doctor’s advice on whether you should be taking an aspirin a day.