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Is Low-Dose Aspirin Too Risky to Use for Heart Attack Prevention?

The Food and Drug Administration is warning against using aspirin to prevent initial heart attacks. The agency has just rejected a request by the Bayer company to modify its aspirin label so that healthy people could take the drug to lower their risk of a cardiac event or a stroke.

Not only did the FDA refuse the label change, but the feds went so far as to caution the American public against using aspirin as a routine preventive medication. The agency said that the possibility of dangerous bleeding is too high. (Other downsides of regular aspirin use include an increased risk of gastrointestinal irritation and ulcers.)  The FDA acknowledged that people who already have diagnosed heart disease can lower their likelihood of a cardiovascular event by taking low-dose aspirin.

A study reported at the American Heart Association Meeting in 2013 suggested that the heart prevention effects may be maximized if low-dose aspirin is taken at bedtime rather than in the morning.

The FDA did not mention a large body of research demonstrating that regular aspirin use can lower the likelihood of developing a number of common cancers: colon, ovarian, esophagus, lung, breast, prostate, stomach and skin cancers have all been studied.

There is information about the pros and cons of aspirin in our free Guide to Key Aspirin Information.

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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