A Japanese study suggested that a daily dose of aspirin does not provide significant health benefits to the hearts of older people.
Dr. Kazuyuki Shimada, of the University of Shin-Oyama City Hospital in Tochigi, Japan, and his colleagues recruited more than 14,000 participants between ages 60 and 85, who were all diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, or a combination of more than one.
The participants were divided into two groups: one who took daily low-dose aspirin, and another group who did not receive aspirin therapy. Researchers documented them for an average of five years to monitor who among the participants developed heart attacks or strokes.
The analysis showed no significant difference in the number of heart attacks, strokes and deaths among the two groups.
"It indicates that primary prevention with daily low-dose aspirin does not reduce the combined risk in this population," Dr. Shimada said to Healthday News.
Researchers suggested that people should talk to their doctors first before quitting aspirin therapy. One can maintain the medication if the benefits outweigh the risks, but only a health professional can determine that. Some of the side effects of aspirin therapy include bleeding of the brain or stomach.
"Patients need to discuss this with their doctor, because I think it's difficult to do that calculation of benefit and risk without consulting a health care professional," said Dr. Michael Gaziano, chief of the division of aging at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School. He co-authored a commentary of the study.
The American Heart Association recommended aspirin therapy to those at high risk of heart attacks as a prevention treatment. Doctors usually prescribe a daily dose of 81 mg to 325 mg. Stopping the therapy can cause rebound and increase one's risk of heart attacks or blood clots, so it is critical that patients talk to his or her doctor before making any changes.
The study was published in the Nov. 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
