Daily Aspirin Taken by More Than Half of Older U.S. Adults
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, April 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Slightly more than half of middle-aged adults and seniors in the United States take aspirin daily to prevent heart attack, stroke or other serious illnesses, a new survey has found.
Leading medical associations recommend use of low-dose aspirin mainly to prevent a second heart attack or stroke. But many others who haven't had a heart problem also take aspirin regularly, researchers found.
A doctor who helped write the national guidelines for low-dose, or "baby," aspirin use said that the number of people found by the survey to be taking daily aspirin "seems about right to me."
"If 100 percent were taking it, I'd be really concerned," said Dr. Robert Bonow, a professor of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
"Fifty percent in this age group seems appropriate to me, considering their risk factors," added Bonow, who helped write the guidelines issued by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
Most appear to start taking daily aspirin after discussing the matter with a health care provider, said study lead author Craig Williams, a pharmacotherapy specialist at Oregon State University in Portland.
That's appropriate, he said.
"We would really advocate that patients engage in those discussions with their primary provider or a cardiologist, if they have one," Williams said. "We don't advocate patients make their own decisions about whether they should use aspirin or not, because it does have some dangerous side effects and it's not for everyone."
For one thing, even low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams) can cause stomach bleeding, the researchers warned. It's not a huge risk, Williams said, affecting only about five out of 1,000 older patients, but it's enough that the guidelines do not automatically recommend daily aspirin use for all adults to prevent a first heart attack or stroke.
Aspirin has two primary benefits for the heart and circulatory system, Bonow said.
The drug, a blood thinner, can prevent clots from forming in arteries that can cause a stroke or heart attack, he said. It also has anti-inflammatory properties that can prevent plaques inside arteries from becoming unstable and rupturing, which also can contribute to blockages.
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, April 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Slightly more than half of middle-aged adults and seniors in the United States take aspirin daily to prevent heart attack, stroke or other serious illnesses, a new survey has found.
Leading medical associations recommend use of low-dose aspirin mainly to prevent a second heart attack or stroke. But many others who haven't had a heart problem also take aspirin regularly, researchers found.
A doctor who helped write the national guidelines for low-dose, or "baby," aspirin use said that the number of people found by the survey to be taking daily aspirin "seems about right to me."
"If 100 percent were taking it, I'd be really concerned," said Dr. Robert Bonow, a professor of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
"Fifty percent in this age group seems appropriate to me, considering their risk factors," added Bonow, who helped write the guidelines issued by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
Most appear to start taking daily aspirin after discussing the matter with a health care provider, said study lead author Craig Williams, a pharmacotherapy specialist at Oregon State University in Portland.
That's appropriate, he said.
"We would really advocate that patients engage in those discussions with their primary provider or a cardiologist, if they have one," Williams said. "We don't advocate patients make their own decisions about whether they should use aspirin or not, because it does have some dangerous side effects and it's not for everyone."
For one thing, even low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams) can cause stomach bleeding, the researchers warned. It's not a huge risk, Williams said, affecting only about five out of 1,000 older patients, but it's enough that the guidelines do not automatically recommend daily aspirin use for all adults to prevent a first heart attack or stroke.
Aspirin has two primary benefits for the heart and circulatory system, Bonow said.
The drug, a blood thinner, can prevent clots from forming in arteries that can cause a stroke or heart attack, he said. It also has anti-inflammatory properties that can prevent plaques inside arteries from becoming unstable and rupturing, which also can contribute to blockages.