Taking An Aspirin Each Day Does More HARM Than Good for Healthy Middle-Aged Adults Because it Raises Their Risk of Major Internal Bleeding

Healthy people who take a daily aspirin to prevent heart attacks in later life may be doing more harm than good, research suggests.

Aspirin – which is a blood thinner – has for decades been given to people diagnosed with heart disease to stop heart attacks and strokes.

But many healthy people in middle age also take the pills as an ‘insurance policy’ against heart problems.

A major new study, which includes data from more than 160,000 people, concludes the risk of major internal bleeding significantly outweighs the benefit of aspirin among those with no history of heart disease.

Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $15.00 (as of 12:45 UTC - Details) The review, led by experts at King’s College London, reinforces growing evidence that aspirin should no longer be used for ‘primary prevention’ – the term for treatment of patients who have no symptoms of heart problems.

The researchers found among healthy people, use of aspirin saw risk of heart attack or a stroke drop 11 per cent.

But the risk of bleeding went up 43 per cent.

This means that 265 people would have to take aspirin for five years to prevent a single heart attack or stroke – but one in 210 would have a major bleed.

Study leader Dr Sean Zheng, academic clinical fellow in cardiology at King’s College London, said: ‘This study demonstrates that there is insufficient evidence to recommend routine aspirin use in the prevention of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths in people without cardiovascular disease.’

Read the Whole Article