Tuesday, September 7, 2010

A Fox News Story about Daily Dose of Aspirin

Healthy Warned Against Daily Dose Of Aspirin 
 Monday August 31, 2009

Healthy people who take aspirin to prevent heart attacks could be doing themselves more harm than good, experts have warned.  New study adds to confusion over benefits of taking aspirin.  The drug, which reduces the risk of blood clots, can be taken by patients who have already suffered a heart attack or are at risk of one, according to NHS Direct.



Millions of others are also believed to take a daily dose as an "insurance policy" in the hope of guarding against heart trouble.
 But the routine use of aspirin by healthy people to prevent heart problems "cannot be supported", professors from the Aspirin for Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis (AAA) said.



Their study found that the risk of cardiovascular problems had to be set against the increased risk of internal bleeding.



Professor Peter Weissberg, of the British Heart Foundation which part-funded the research, said: "We know that patients with symptoms of artery disease, such as angina, heart attack or stroke, can reduce their risk of further problems by taking a small dose of aspirin each day.
 "The findings of this study agree with our current advice that people who do not have symptomatic or diagnosed artery or heart disease should not take aspirin, because the risks of bleeding may outweigh the benefits."
In patients who have already had a heart attack, the risk of a second is so much higher that the balance is in favour of taking aspirin, Professor Gerry Fowkes, from the Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Peripheral Vascular Diseases in Edinburgh, added.
The study recruited 28,980 men and women aged between 50 and 75 who were free of clinically evident cardiovascular disease in central Scotland.


They were given either a daily dose of 100mg of aspirin or a placebo.


Major bleeding requiring admission to hospital occurred in 34 (2%) subjects in the aspirin group and 20 (1.2%) of the placebo group.

*Story from FoxNews.Com*




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