Second thoughts on a daily aspirin
As well as its longstanding role as a painkiller, aspirin has also been considered a useful tool in helping to prevent heart disease. It has an ‘antiplatelet effect’ which means it can help blood to flow more easily and offer real benefits to people with cardiovascular disease. And many of us will have been advised by our GPs to take small doses of aspirin regularly once we reach middle age, ‘just in case’. But new research indicates that while aspirin really is useful for those who have already suffered a heart attack or stroke, the risks of taking aspirin regularly outweigh the benefits for those who are otherwise healthy.
Researchers from St George’s University of London looked at data from 100,000 healthy individuals who took aspirin regularly and found that, as expected, it did reduce the risk of heart attack – by around 10%. Along with this benefit, however, the researchers also discovered that the risk of internal bleeding rose by a third. These findings, say the researchers, raise questions about the value of otherwise healthy people taking aspirin on a regular basis as a preventive measure. They add that the benefits of aspirin for those who have cardiovascular disease remain undisputed – and that anyone who has been advised to take it should continue to do so.
Senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, Natasha Stewart, comments, “Aspirin can help reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke among those with known heart disease, and this group of people should continue to take aspirin as prescribed by their doctor... people who don’t have symptomatic or diagnosed heart disease shouldn’t take aspirin because the risk of internal bleeding may outweigh the benefits.”