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Low-dose aspirin or baby aspirin (81 to 100 milligrams) has been used as a safe and cheap way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. Aspirin does this by thinning out the blood and preventing blood clots from forming, which may block arteries. Getty images

The United StatesPreventive Services Task Force (USPTF) released adraft guidelineon October 12 stating that a daily regimen of low-dose aspirin is no longer recommended as a preventative measure to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems in older adults without heart disease, reports Lindsey Tanner for theAssociated Press.

Individuals over 60 should not take preventive aspirin because of the age-related risk for life-threatening bleeding. The guidelines are not yet final but may affect tens of millions of adults at high risk for cardiovascular disease, reports Roni Caryn Rabin for theNew York Times.

Ultimately, those currently on a low-dose aspirin regimen or who have cardiovascular risk factors should talk to their doctors about what is best for them.

We dont recommend anyone stop without talking to a clinician, and definitely not if they have already had a heart attack or stroke, says Chien-Wen Tseng, a USPTF memberand a University of Hawaii research director, to theNew York Times.

The report also states that those aged between 40 and 60 and worried about their heart health should decide to take aspirin on a case-by-case basis, reports Ed Cara forGizmodo.

The panel consists of 16 medicine and disease prevention experts who evaluate evidence-based preventative measures and screening tests. Panel members are appointed by theAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Low-dose aspirin or baby aspirin (81 to 100 milligrams) has previously been recommended as a safe and cheap way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. Aspirin does this by thinning out the blood and preventing blood clots from forming, per theNew York Times. The drugseems to most help individuals who already have, or are at a high riskfor, cardiovascular disease.The panel found some evidence that baby aspirin may only benefit people between 40 and 60 years of age who have a 10 percent risk of having a heart attack or stroke, per the Associated Press.

However, aspirin can also cause life-threatening bleeding inthe digestive tractor brain, per the New York Times. One study published in 2018 in theNew England Journal of Medicinefound that the risk of bleeding from an aspirin regimen outweighs its potentialbenefits for those over 70 years of age,Gizmodoreports.

The USPTF made their assessments based on a literature review of data from recent trials and population studies.For older people who have no risks of heart disease, the potential for bleeding damageoutweighs any aspirin benefits.

When we looked at the literature, most of it suggested the net balance is not favorable for most people there was more bleeding than heart attacks prevented, says Amit Khera, an author of the guideline, to theNew York Times. And this isnt nose bleeds, this can be bleeding in the brain.

The draft recommendation statement is currently open for public comment until November 8, before a final version of the report Is published, theNew York Timesreports.

Theres no longer a blanket statement that everybody whos at increased risk for heart disease, even though they never had a heart attack, should be on aspirin, Tseng explains to theNew York Times. We need to be smarter at matching primary prevention to the people who will benefit the most and have the least risk of harm.

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Aspirin No Longer Recommended as a Preventative Measure Against Heart Attacks and Strokes in Older Individuals - Smithsonian

This entry was posted on October 15, 2021 at 1:52 am and is filed under Preventative Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |