{"id":7982,"date":"2020-02-05T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=7982"},"modified":"2021-10-25T18:00:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T22:00:38","slug":"daily-aspirin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/daily-aspirin\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you take a daily aspirin?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking a low-dose daily aspirin has long been recommended by cardiologists as an easy and effective way to help prevent cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes, which are the leading killers in the United States. Aspirin has blood-thinning abilities and fights the formation of blood clots that can block blood flow in the arteries and lead to cardiovascular disease.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two recently published studies, known as <\/span>ASCEND<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>ARRIVE<\/span><\/a>, have called this recommendation into question, especially for the millions of healthy people who use aspirin as a way to reduce their risk of having a first-time heart attack or stroke. In light of these studies, the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) have recently revised their recommendations on daily aspirin use, noting that for many Americans, especially healthy older adults and those with bleeding risks, the dangers outweigh the benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s research showing more death and more bleeding with no reduction in cardiovascular events in healthy individuals taking a daily aspirin,\u201d says Erin Michos, MD, MHS, the associate director of preventive cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who also served on the writing committee for the <\/span>2019 AHA\/ACC Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease<\/span><\/a>. \u201cIn people without a history of heart disease or without certain risk factors for it, daily aspirin use can do more harm than good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Oct. 13, 2021, a <\/span>federal advisory panel<\/span><\/a> said people over the age of 60 should not start taking aspirin for heart disease because the risk of bleeding outweighs the benefits. People ages 40 to 59 should discuss it with their clinicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Daily aspirin and heart disease<\/span><\/h2>\n

Most <\/span>heart attacks<\/span><\/a> and strokes are the result of <\/span>blocked blood flow<\/span><\/a>, according to the AHA. This occurs when plaque\u2014a fatty substance made up of cholesterol, cellular waste, calcium, and other products\u2014builds up on artery walls. Plaque narrows the arteries making it harder for blood to pass through. Ruptured plaques can also trigger the formation of blood clots that can lodge in arteries and clog them. When blood flow to the heart is affected, heart attacks can happen. If blood flow to the brain is restricted, a stroke can occur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aspirin is technically known as an antiplatelet medication. Platelets are tiny blood cells that help your blood clot. Aspirin thins blood and interferes with its clotting mechanism, making it less likely blood clots will form and clog arteries. While some studies have suggested that aspirin can lower blood pressure (having high blood pressure is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease), experts caution that the studies have not been well-conducted and the results have been conflicting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits of daily aspirin use<\/span><\/h2>\n

One in five<\/span><\/a> people who have had one heart attack will be hospitalized with another one within five years, reports the AHA. Doctors recommend low-dose aspirin use in people with a history of heart disease because research\u2014some <\/span>200 studies in over 200,000 people<\/span><\/a>\u2014shows it reduces the chances of having a second cardiovascular event. One of the first studies pointing to a connection was printed in the <\/span>Lancet<\/span><\/i><\/a> in 1988 and showed that one month of low-dose aspirin use started immediately after a heart attack or stroke could prevent <\/span>25 deaths in 1,000 patients and 10-15 nonfatal cardiovascular events<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are some other benefits of aspirin?<\/span><\/p>\n