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UK group: Daily aspirin dose does more harm than good to prevent heart disease
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A United Kingdom group, the Royal College of General Practitioners, announced yesterday in their November 2009 edition of Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin that people who take aspirin prophylaticly to prevent heart disease put themselves at risk for serious gastrointestinal bleeding. They claim that a daily aspirin dose to prevent heart disease has not been proven to be effective.
The UK group decision was influenced by a recent analysis of six controlled trials involving a total of 95,000 patients published in the journal the Lancet. The report does not back up the routine use of aspirin in people without diagnosed heart disease.
June Davison, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: "It is well established that aspirin can help prevent heart attacks and strokes among people with heart and circulatory disease - so this group of people should continue to take aspirin as prescribed by their doctor.
"However, for those who do not have heart and circulatory disease the risk of serious bleeding outweighs the potential preventative benefits of taking aspirin.
"We advise people not to take aspirin daily, unless they check with their doctor.
"The best way to reduce your risk of developing this disease is to avoid smoking, eat a diet low in saturated fat and rich in fruit and vegetables and take regular physical activity."
WIll the US follow suit in their recommendation? If they do, it will be a hard hit for aspirin manufacturers.
Source: "Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease? "
DTB vol 47; No 11, November 2009.
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