Should You Be Taking Aspirin Daily?
Mon, March 30, 2009 at 02:00AM Aspirin decreases the chances of a heart attack or stroke in patients who have had such an event previously, and it may help prevent one in the first place. The problem is that aspirin can occasionally cause rare but serious complications, such as bleeding in the digestive tract or brain. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has just updated its recommendations about taking a daily dose of aspirin, and published them in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
There’s now good evidence that aspirin decreases heart attacks in men aged 45 to 79 and strokes in women aged 55 to 79 who are at increased risk for but have not yet had these problems. Aspirin prevents more heart attacks and strokes in groups of people with more risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g. high blood pressure, overweight, high LDL-cholesterol). This means patients and doctors should consider a patient’s age, diabetes status, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and smoking when deciding whether to take aspirin regularly.
Men can assess their risk of heat attack online; an online risk assessment tool for stroke is also available. The recommendations of the Task Force are:
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Men age 45 to 79 years should take aspirin if the chances of preventing heart attack outweigh the chances of bleeding in the digestive tract.
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Women age 55 to 79 years should take aspirin if the chances of reducing ischemic stroke (the commonest type of stroke) outweigh the chances of bleeding in the digestive tract.
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Men younger than 45 years and women younger than 55 years who have not previously had a heart attack or stroke should not take aspirin for prevention.
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It is unclear whether the benefits of aspirin outweigh the risks for patients 80 years or older.
A ‘baby aspirin’ – 81 mg aspirin – is perfectly adequate; no need for the ‘regular’ aspirin tablet, which is 325 mg. As with many other recommendations, these include a requirement that you discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor, who knows your health best. If she/he is unhelpful, go to another doctor.
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