Daily Low-Dose Aspirin For Prevention

Daily low-dose aspirin has been presented to the public as a risk- free must-do preventive measure for all older people, but last year an FDA advisory committee recommended against approving aspirin as a heart attack preventive in people without heart disease. (The decision shocked many physicians-at least those who heard the news.) The committee’s decision was based on the suspicion that people at very low risk for a heart attack may have a higher risk of being harmed by an aspirin-induced hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in the brain).

A new Cochrane Review of all studies verified that suspicion and went a step further concluding that the risks of aspirin therapy outweigh the benefits, even- for people with hypertension (i.e., people who are at high risk for a heart attack or stroke). But things are different for people with hypertension and who have already had a heart attack, stroke, or circulation problems. For this group, the benefits of daily low-dose aspirin therapy clearly outweigh the risks. Copyright Center for Medical Consumers Oct 2004