Wait! Aspirin Not Great For Every Heart

Popping a low-dose aspirin to prevent a second heart attack has become commonplace. But now scientists are warning that for some men, it could do more harm than good. They published their findings in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal.

Researchers at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London identified more than 5,000 men between ages 45 and 69 who were at increased risk of coronary heart disease but had not previously had heart trouble.

The men were randomly divided into four different treatment groups to gauge the effect of aspirin on heart attacks.

The results were surprising.

Risk Of Bleeding

The authors found a greater beneficial effect of aspirin in men with low rather than high blood pressure, not only for coronary heart disease but also for stroke. Men with higher pressure may derive no protective benefit from aspirin but will risk possible serious bleeding, the authors suggest. They added that even in men with low blood pressure, the benefit does not necessarily outweigh the risk of bleeding.

Given the widespread use of aspirin for the prevention of coronary heart disease, these findings would, if confirmed, have important implications for clinical practice.

But the authors acknowledged that further trials are needed to confirm the results.

They advised that men who have previously had heart trouble and strokes and are taking aspirin should continue to do so.

What is certain, they concluded, is that when people are considering the preventive use of aspirin, it's equally important to control their blood pressure.

For an in-depth discussion of the usefulness and limitations of aspirin use in heart diseases, click this link from the American Heart Association.