[ad_1]
In the United States, doctors often prescribe a low daily aspirin dose to people aged 50 to 70 years to prevent heart attacks and strokes, even if the patient does not have never suffered the same disease. In Europe, cardiologists do this only after a first heart problem.
Aspirin fluidifies the blood and prevents the formation of blood clots in the arteries. However, excessively thin blood can cause bleeding.
It is there that lies the dilemma: for what type of patients the benefit of reducing cardiovascular risk outweighs the risk of bleeding?
According to several studies, balance is clearly prone to taking aspirin in people with a stroke or heart attack. These people are at an obvious risk of a second accident and aspirin helps to avoid it.
A new study, published Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama), offers a broader view of patients who have not yet had cardiovascular problems.
But the text does not solve the controversy. He says that, on the one hand, aspirin reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke in people without a history, but on the other hand, it increases the risk of bleeding severe, especially the brain, stomach and intestines.
Aspirin has no impact on two-way mortality.
"For healthy people, the small benefits of aspirin in preventing strokes and heart attacks have an increased risk of bleeding," says Jane Armitage, professor of epidemiology at University of Oxford.
The conclusion is therefore that doctors should recommend aspirin on a case-by-case basis, depending on the other risks of the patient, says cardiologist Michael Gaziano in a comment.
For example, stopping smoking or lowering cholesterol levels are other methods of reducing cardiovascular risk.
[ad_2]
Source link
