Sunday, March 15, 2015

Frequency and Practice-Level Variation in Inappropriate Aspirin Use for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

Since we have already had a cardiovascular event, aspirin is probably indicated for us. Ask your doctor about this, I should never be followed with any advice.
The abstract explaing it here:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/838425
The readable writeup here:

An Aspirin a Day: Is the Benefit Worth the Risk?

A couple of selected paragraphs;

In fact, researchers have found that about 12 percent of the of nearly 69,000 U.S. adults taking aspirin on a long-term basis should not have received the prescription in the first place. Dr. Ravi Hira, cardiologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston as well as the study's head researcher, said that the group's odds of suffering a heart attack or stroke were not high enough (6 percent or higher within 10 years) to outweigh the risks of daily aspirin use.

Risks of Daily Aspirin Use If you are healthy and have never suffered a heart attack or stroke, using aspirin to prevent these events is unnecessary and, worse, may put your health at risk for the following reasons:

  • The same properties that make aspirin work as a blood thinner may also cause unwanted side effects such as bleeding into the brain or stomach.
  • Aspirin can mix badly with prescription medicines as well as some over-the-counter drugs.
  • Too much aspirin can increase bleeding during medical or dental procedures.
  • You could develop aspirin allergies or intolerance.
More at link.

No comments:

Post a Comment