Daily Aspirin A Good Thing, Right? Maybe Not....

[monmouth]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704511304575075701363436686.html?mod=yhoofront



By ANNA WILDE MATHEWS

If you're taking a daily aspirin for your heart, you may want to reconsider.

For years, many middle-aged people have taken the drug in hopes of reducing the chance of a heart attack or stroke. Americans bought more than 44 million packages of low-dose aspirin marketed for heart protection in the year ended September, up about 12% from 2005, according to research firm IMS Health.
Podcast

Ned Calonge, the chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, explains new guidelines for recommending aspirin therapy

Now, medical experts say some people who are taking aspirin on a regular basis should think about stopping. Public-health officials are scaling back official recommendations for the painkiller to target a narrower group of patients who are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. The concern is that aspirin's side effects, which can include bleeding ulcers, might outweigh the potential benefits when taken by many healthy or older people.

"Not everybody needs to take aspirin," says Sidney Smith, a professor at the University of North Carolina who is chairing a new National Institutes of Health effort to compile treatment recommendations on cardiovascular-disease prevention. Physicians are beginning to tailor aspirin recommendations to "groups where the benefits are especially well established," he says.


Much more at the link. I find this article a little confusing, what category do I fit in? Because I've had no events does that mean I should stop taking a low dose daily aspirin? My doctor had no problem with my taking a daily dose. Are the hearts of men really all that different than men?

[fascisthunter]

1. Aspirin has been banned in Germany

at least that is what I heard...

[Hannah Bell]

4. no.

[hlthe2b]

7. No... only for those under age of 16--which US also recommends

due to the risk of Reye syndrome in febrile children receiving aspririn.

[fascisthunter]

8. thank you... I was just researching now

That has got to be what my second cousin in Germany was trying to tell me.

[harkadog]

2. I think you are wading into dangerous waters

trying to get medical advice on a political discussion board :)

[hlthe2b]

10. Discussion with physician should also include other supplements

and meds one is taking. For years we have pushed fairly high level of vitamin E supplementation--which may be a good thing, but can likewise impact clotting. There are other herbal supplements and prescription drugs that, with aspirin can be an issue. Talking to both physician and pharmacist (who can look at everything you are taking for synergistic effects and contraindications) would be the wise thing to do.

[tridim]

3. My green thumb has taught me that life only requires what it needs, nothing more.

Life doesn't come with a manual, but if you pay attention to your body you'll figure out what you need to stay healthy. Anyone telling you to take anything once a day should be considered suspect IMO.

[Hannah Bell]

5. every few years they release this same article. "some people" = e.g. bleeding disorders,

ulcer-prone. check w/ your doc. those things were already known.


"Still, the Lancet authors disagreed with the U.S. panel on some important details, particularly about who should be taking aspirin. The two groups examined evidence largely from the same studies of the drug, although the international team analyzed the data differently. In the end, the international team of scientists, unlike the U.S. officials, concluded that aspirin's effects on men and women were mostly the same."

[SPedigrees]

6. Easiest way to avoid this side effect is to take 4 days off the regimen

for every 10 days on, to allow the body to reset and the cumulative effects of the aspirin to diminish.

In light of the potential for liver damage due to acetaminaphin (sp) aka tylenol, even at moderate doses, aspirin seems by far the safer choice for pain relief as well.

[DesertFlower]

9. i don't take it. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

11. There are better natural blood thinners

Here's what I use......

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

14. This has become a staple in my household and I didn't know it was

a natural blood thinner! Thank you!

[Paper Roses]

12. There are also reports that a daily dose of 81 mg Aspirin, combined

with the use of Ibuprofen can lead to stroke.

Sometimes mixing drugs that seem benign can do great harm.
No-one really knows why my healthy, active husband had a stroke. He was on the daily baby-aspirin. He had slightly elevated blood pressure and slightly "Off" cholesterol count.
He was under doctors care and all his problems were now within normal range and had been for years.

While playing golf, he hurt his knee, torn, -something-or-other. Because he had a scheduled regular visit in 2 weeks with the Doc(VA), he took Advil for the pain and swelling The knee was slightly swollen but not drastic. I believe this went on for several weeks. Neither he or I knew about the potential bad happenings associated with this drug combination. It also takes several weeks to get to see a Doc at the VA. That aside, he was not in great pain.

He seemed fine but for the few days before he died, he said he had a mild headache. We all get headaches and this was not the type of thing that would send him to the emergency room.

The day of his death, I went to work at 8 AM and was called at nine. Something happened. I came home just as the ambulance was here, strapping him to a gurney. Right to the emergency room, he died as they were doing a CAT scan on him.

The doctors studied his medical charts and could find no real reason that this stroke should have happened. There were no warning signs. No droopy face, no slurred speech. Nothing.

I have since read articles about the combination of aspirin and Ibuprofen. To this day, I think that combination is what caused the massive stroke that killed him.

Even though his care was from the VA under normal circumstances, It is a good thing he had Medicare. We had to go to a local hospital, not a VA facility and I had to pay quite a bit of the bills for all the emergency work they did to try and save his life.

Talk to your doctor please before combining these two drugs-or any drugs for that matter.

My heart breaks even more that we did not know the danger here and that this might not have happened.

[SPedigrees]

13. I'm very sorry for your loss.

And you make a good point. Combining drugs, even OTC drugs, is fraught with potential dangers.

[prolesunited]

15. Caused me stomach bleeding

and I had to have very expensive gastro and colonoscopy to figure this out. Cut the aspirin, took meds for a few months and I was miraculously cured.