Friday, March 29, 2024

Savvy Senior Should You Take Daily Aspirin for Your Heart?

Dear Savvy Senior,

I’ve been taking daily aspirin for almost 20 years now because I have a family history of heart disease. But I recently read that using aspirin is not recommended anymore. What can you tell me about this change in philosophy?

Confused Aspirin User

 

Dear Confused,

There’s no doubt that taking low-dose daily aspirin is beneficial to most people who’ve had a heart attack or stroke. But if you don’t have heart disease, should you take it as a preventative measure? The answer for most people is probably not, according to new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a widely respected independent panel that develops recommendations on preventive health care. Here’s what you should know.

 

New Guidelines

For years, aspirin has been a go-to pill Americans use to help ward off cardiovascular disease because of its blood thinning capability. But like most medicines, it can cause serious side effects. Aspirin irritates the stomach lining and can cause bleeding in the stomach, intestines and brain which can be life-threatening. And the risk of bleeding increases with age.

About one-third of Americans age 40 and older, and more than 45 percent of people over age 70 – who don’t have cardiovascular disease – already take a daily aspirin to help prevent cardiovascular disease because it’s been recommended for decades by many different health experts. 

But in the past few years, new research has emerged showing that for many people without diagnosed heart disease, the risk of bleeding may outweigh the benefits of taking a daily aspirin. This research, along with the advent of other effective therapies in preventing heart attacks and strokes that don’t cause bleeding – better blood pressure drugs and statins for lowering cholesterol – has narrowed the role aspirin plays.

Here’s a breakdown of the updated USPSTF guidelines of who should, and shouldn’t, take a daily aspirin, and for those who should, how to take it safely.

 

 

 

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