Did you know that some 40% of American citizens over the age of 50 still use aspirins for their primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease? These older seniors began this aspirin regimen in the 1980s with the strong emergence, at that time, of potential heart benefits for the medicine’s use. But much of the therapeutic use of the med has lost its relevance today due to the age of the very old studies in the current medical field. Newer highly in-depth research performed in the years since the 1980s has produced astonishing findings on the current value of the aspirin among non-heart patients.
***It is important here to remember that aspirin through the years has been highly successful in decreasing the formation of blood clots in cardiac patients. Thus aspirin has reduced the occurrence of a stroke or a heart attack for these individuals. Dr. Sarah Samaan, a Baylor Regional Medical Center cardiologist, comments “Currently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises that adults ages 50-59, who have a 10 percent heart disease risk, take low-dose aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.”
The cardiologist cautions all known heart disease patients under a physician’s care: “They should absolutely NOT STOP taking aspirin unless their doctor advises them to do so!”
But among healthy, cardiac-strong individuals, numerous research findings have indicated that a daily dose of aspirin does not save lives, but rather may cause unnecessary internal bleeding, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract and brain. The Charlotte County Florida Weekly, in its first publication of 2019, reports that an analysis by University of Florida (UF) researchers has found that “Among otherwise healthy people, a daily dose of aspirin does not save lives and causes additional bleeding.” The school’s scientists conducted a meta-analysis (a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies) of 11 international clinical aspirin trials involving more than 157,000 healthy participants done since the 1980s. As published in the European Heart Journal, the multiple trials and the findings done by the UF researchers strengthen the view that low-dose aspirin users did not necessarily reduce their deaths from heart attacks and strokes. Instead, these non-cardiac patients were found to have a 50% greater increase in major internal bleeding than those non-cardiac seniors who did not take the pill. In other words, it was noted that aspirin can be a hazard for those seniors with a normal blood time for not-clotting. This appears to raise their risk of a hemorrhagic stroke or internal bleeding. Basil Eldadah, MD and Chief Physician of the Geriatrics Branch of the National Institute on Aging, states “This…has shown us that overall the benefits of regular aspirin use do not outweigh its harms.”
There is even some scientific evidence for the increase in cancer deaths from the general use of aspirin. This is a surprising discovery, however, given that prior studies suggested that aspirin use improved cancer outcomes as stated in my topic’s second paragraph. The National Cancer Institute tells us that analysis of this result is still under scrutiny: “Until we have additional data, these findings should be interpreted with caution.”
Dr. Anthony A. Bavry, an associate professor at the UF College of Medicine and a Florida state cardiologist, concludes his opinion with these words: “Many professionals have a hard time believing that aspirin may not be so beneficial because there has been such a widespread and favorable view of this medication (for all patients throughout the years). This certainly does not settle the debate but it does call for a reappraisal of society’s overwhelmingly positive view of aspirin therapy.” Sun Citians: If you are currently taking aspirin therapy for prevention of heart disease, please do ask your current medical authority for his opinion on the subject.
