Who Will You Ever Trust Again?
Do you remember Woody Allen's line in the movie Sleeper? Sitting in a McDonald's two hundred years in the future ("Trillions Sold"), he mentions that scientists recently discovered that hamburgers are actually very healthy for you. Well, sit down before you read this one.
95,000 patients without diabetes, without overt blockage of their arteries, and without previous cardiovascular disease were randomly given daily aspirin or not. (You can guess where this is going.) There was virtually no difference found in the frequency of heart attack or stroke between the two groups and no difference in mortality. Patients who received aspirin had fewer brain clots, but this was balanced by the number that had more brain hemorrhages. Patients who received aspirin experienced slightly more (non-brain) bleeding.
The authors of this study, which appeared in Lancet, May 30, 2009, suggest that the benefits of aspirin to most people may no longer outweigh the risks, especially if their cholesterol is controlled, they're not smoking, and are generally taking care of themselves.
If you own Bayer stock, take two of the many aspirin pills on your medicine shelf and call your broker.
Readers' Responses:
#1:
Hmmm. So what are the implications (if any) for us nonsmokers whose cholesterol and blood pressure are controlled but who have had cardiovascular disease and arterial blockages sufficient to warrant CABGs? Inquiring minds want to know.
My answer: I dunno. As I read between the lines of the article, a situation like yours might seem to shift the balance towards taking aspirin. But your question takes me way beyond my area of expertise. You might want to print out the article (reference above), send it to your doctor then discuss it with him/her. The conclusion was the author's, and recent, and I'm not sure how widely it is shared in the medical community which, as you know, is generally conservative about changing recommendations.
#2:
"Thanks" for this bad bit of news.
#3:
"That article makes me feel better. I stopped taking "an aspirin a day" a year and a half ago as I was covered in black and blue. Every time I bumped into anything , I looked like a battered wife. Much better since I stopped even though I still bruise easily.
#4:
Years ago you suggested that I take an aspirin a day for heart protection. I chose not to. From my reading then and since I have seen that aspirin has a multiplicity of effects including blood thinning and clot prevention. Some of those effects are not as desirable. Personally, I like it when a wound clots easily and I get a scab rather than continued bleeding. It is nice to be able to have procedures (like a prostate biopsy (even though that is not pleasant)) immediately without having to wait a few days for the blood thinners to clear my system.
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