Daily low-dose aspirin no longer recommended as heart attack preventative for healthy adults

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

If you're a healthy older adult looking for ways to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke, don't turn to that age-old standby: daily low-dose aspirin. It's no longer recommended as a preventative for older adults who don't have a high risk or existing heart disease, according to guidelines announced Sunday by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

"For the most part, we are now much better at treating risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes and especially high cholesterol," said North Carolina cardiologist Dr. Kevin Campbell, who wasn't involved in the new guidelines. "This makes the biggest difference, probably negating any previously perceived aspirin benefit in primary prevention."

Doctors may consider aspirin for certain older high-risk patients, such as those who have trouble lowering their cholesterol or managing their blood sugars, as long as there is no increased risk for internal bleeding, the guidelines say. European guidelines recommend against the use of anti-clotting therapies such as aspirin at any age.

"Clinicians should be very selective in prescribing aspirin for people without known cardiovascular disease," John Hopkins cardiologist Dr. Roger Blumenthal, who co-chaired the new guidelines, said in a statement. "It's much more important to optimize lifestyle habits and control blood pressure and cholesterol as opposed to recommending aspirin."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/daily-low-dose-aspirin-no-longer-recommended-as-heart-attack-preventative-for-healthy-adults/ar-BBUT9v3?li=BBnb7Kz

[riversedge]

1. So, eat nutritious meals and exercise to control BP and cholesteral. dah!

[marybourg]

2. "Age-old standby"?

Not to someone my age. New-fangled idea to me. Refused to do it, along with hormone replacement therapy, another discredited new- fangled idea. Bah, humbug.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. Oh, yeah. Hormone replacement therapy.

I recall getting into a discussion that was closer to an argument with a woman doctor I know, and she seemed to think HRT was the best possible thing ever and a woman she stay on it the rest of her life. She seemed to think that most women die shortly after menopause, and I couldn't convince her that menopause was a normal part of a woman's life cycle, not a death sentence.

[Vinca]

3. Today it's bad for you, tomorrow it's good for you. Wine is bad, now it's good, now it's bad.

Coffee is bad, now good. Eggs bad, now good. Chocolate, bad, good, good and bad. I ignore it all.

[riversedge]

4. I had not heard that wine is bad. Please say that is not so!!

[Polly Hennessey]

5. Exactly, Vinca.

Now it’s up, now it’s down. I stopped listening to trendy health nonsense a few years ago. I realized that if I waited a while what was bad became good and what was good became bad. I enjoy my chocolate, my wine, my eggs, etc. 😁

[virgogal]

8. I agree --another day,another study.

[Igel]

9. It's nuanced.

And not really new news. It's a few weeks old.

Overall, aspirin better than no aspirin.

Look at details more, and over a certain age the risk of stroke increases and it's more likely aspirin will make the effects of the stroke worse. But for those under that age, with less stroke risk, the decrease in bad consequences following a heart attack make any increased risk worth it.

Think of it as the picture's better in focus now.

[marybourg]

11. As of this weekend's NYT, eggs are

officially bad again.

[Farmer-Rick]

6. Aspirin isn't as safe as they want you to believe

I was taking it regularly until I developed an allergy to it. During that whole time, I had stomach problems. After my tongue swelled up and I broke out in a rash after taking it, I stopped taking it. The allergy symptoms went away and so did my stomach pains.

[wishstar]

7. Daily use is risky for excessive bleeding and ulcers, but occasional use can help some of us

I have never understood how anyone could take daily aspirin safely due to the excessive bruising, bleeding and acid reflux that I would get. But since I can't take daily statins either due to muscle problems of cramps and weakness, if I am inactive for whatever reason and want to make sure my blood circulation remains good with less chance of blood clots, I take an occasional baby aspirin. My spouse was found to have the V Leiden mutation and has successfully taken warfarin daily for almost 20 years after nearly dying from blood clots to lungs but cannot tolerate statins. I imagine that for people who don't know they have V Leiden factor, a daily aspirin could be live-saving.

My DNA testing results found I am more sensitive to warfarin's blood-thinning effects and could only safely take it at a much lower dose but that aspirin could help in prevention of colon cancer for which I have high risk due to parental history and polyps. But I know that more than a couple of baby aspirin weekly causes me to have excessive bleeding and heartburn, so I use it very cautiously.