Ever since drug manufacturers began promoting aspirin as a way to
prevent heart attacks, millions of healthy people started swallowing the
pills daily. Yet, what they didn't know about aspirin is that, not only
can it have serious negative side effects, taking it isn't an effective
preventive measure for everyone.
Because of this, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has
strongly recommended that clinicians discuss the benefits and risks
of aspirin therapy with healthy adult patients.
The recommendation was published in a recent issue of the Annals of
Internal Medicine.
The USPSTF said that the regular use of aspirin can reduce the risk of
coronary heart disease (CHD) in certain people by about 28%. Only
those who have never had a heart attack but are considered at increased
risk for CHD may benefit.
However, the Task Force also noted that aspirin can increase
the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding, and hemorrhagic strokes which
involve bleeding in the brain.
Although the benefits of aspirin outweigh the harm for persons with an
increased risk of CHD, the harm may exceed the benefits for those who are
at average or low risk for heart disease.
"Aspirin therapy is powerful, and clinicians and patients need to
discuss the role of aspirin therapy in combating CHD," said John M.
Eisenberg, M.D., director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ), which sponsors the USPSTF.
SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, Jan. 15, 2002.
See Also:
"Aspirin
overuse called 'dangerous'"
"Aspirin
use linked to acid reflux disease"
"Using
aspirin -- even at low doses -- increases risk of internal bleeding"
"Daily
aspirin therapy ups risk of brain hemorrhage"
"Does
aspirin prevent heart attacks? Don't believe it!"
