Aspirin is not safe for Everyone
For many years now, men have taken low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks, and the logical assumption was that women would likewise reduce heart attack risk by practicing this simple preventive measure.
But not so fast... men and women are not biologically identical. As it turns out, Women's Health Study researchers found that aspirin did not reduce heart attack risk in women, and actually increased their risk for gastric bleeding.
The Silver Lining -- Reduced Stroke Risk
The good news from the study is that low-dose aspirin can help prevent first strokes in women.
According to Charles H. Hennekens, MD, DrPH, an epidemiologist at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Miami School of Medicine, this is no minor consideration. Dr. Hennekens, who designed the Women's Health Study when he was at Harvard, points out that each year, approximately 40,000 more women than men suffer a stroke.
Another significant benefit: If you're a woman age 65 or older, aspirin can significantly reduce the risk for both stroke and heart attack.
About the Study
In the study, Dr. Hennekens and his colleagues randomly assigned 39,876 apparently healthy women age 45 and older to take a 100-mg aspirin or a placebo every other day. (In comparison, baby aspirin contains 81 mg, while an average tablet is 325 mg.) Over the next decade, they monitored the women for heart attack, stroke and other major cardiovascular events.
After 10 years, researchers found that...
Women who took low-dose aspirin experienced a 17% lower risk for stroke, and a 24% lower risk for stroke due to blood clots (the most common type). Low-dose aspirin did not have any demonstrable effect on preventing first heart attack or cardiovascular death in women younger than 65.
Women over 65 were 30% less apt to experience a stroke caused by a blood clot, and 34% less likely to have a heart attack.
Gastrointestinal bleeding that required a blood transfusion occurred in 127 women taking aspirin, in contrast with 91 women taking a placebo. Gastric bleeding has been a known side effect of regular aspirin use for many years -- even low-dose aspirin.
Aspirin's benefits were most apparent in women who did not smoke or had quit smoking, while hormone therapy had no effect one way or the other. These findings were reported in the March 31, 2005, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Ninety percent of the financing for the study came from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 10% from Bayer AG, the manufacturer of Bayer Aspirin.
What You Should Do
Because aspirin is a drug and all drugs have side effects, Dr. Hennekens emphasizes that no one should start taking aspirin on a regular basis without consulting a health-care professional who can help determine whether the risk of disease exceeds the risk of side effects.
If you choose to take aspirin as a preventative measure, make sure you are tested for occult blood in the stool with a hemoccult test at the doctor's office regularly. And don't forget the importance of therapeutic lifestyle changes, such as a better diet, regular exercise and no smoking... these are often more effective than any pill.
This article is for education only and isn't medical advice. Please talk with your physician before making changes to medications or treatment. Originally published by Medea Galligan.
