Do not take aspirin for prevention!
Aspirin can bring to intensive care
Doctors warn about the dangers of taking the drug dailyRebecca Smith, GZT.RU
Today, millions of people take aspirin every day in the hope that it will help them stay healthy. However, new research has shown that healthy people who take this drug for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases can cause more harm than good to their health.
At the recent congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona, attended by leading UK doctors, it was suggested that taking aspirin does not significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in healthy people, as previously thought. In addition, doctors stressed that taking aspirin daily almost doubles the risk of getting to the hospital with internal bleeding.
As recent studies have shown, for a healthy person, the harm from taking aspirin daily outweighs the benefits. At the same time, doctors insist that those patients who have already suffered a heart attack should continue taking this medication.
Doctors also suggest including aspirin in the so-called polytablet along with a cholesterol-lowering statin and a drug for high blood pressure. Such a pill will have to be taken by all people over the age of 50.
Experts say that a large number of self-medicating people take aspirin just in case, believing that it is completely safe.
"Our study shows that at this stage, aspirin should not be prescribed to large groups of the population," says Professor Jerry Foakes. "Aspirin probably leads to some reduction in future risks, but at the same time it can cause internal bleeding, which may be so severe that it will lead to death."
According to Professor Peter Weisberg, one of the sponsors of the study, the risks of cardiovascular diseases and the increased likelihood of internal bleeding should be carefully weighed. "If you do not suffer from a disease of the cardiovascular system and have already had a heart attack once, then it should be borne in mind that, although aspirin reduces the risk of a heart attack or heart attack, all the benefits from it can be offset by the risk of severe internal bleeding."
The experiment involved 29 thousand men and women aged 50 to 75 years. They were examined in order to detect obstructed patency of the vessels of the legs – a sign of the development of a cardiovascular disease that does not yet have pronounced symptoms. Two groups of people took aspirin or placebo daily for eight years. There was no difference between the number of heart attacks and strokes in the members of the two groups, and the mortality rate in them turned out to be the same. However, among those who took aspirin, 34 serious internal bleeding was recorded (2%), while among those who were given a placebo, the number of bleeding was 20 (1.2%).
Earlier this year, Oxford scientists found that aspirin does reduce the risk of heart attack by 20%, but at the same time increases the risk of internal bleeding by 30%.
Nick Henderson, executive director of the Aspirin Foundation, believes that the use of aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases is appropriate only when the doctor believes that his patient is particularly likely to have a heart attack - for example, due to obesity, improper lifestyle, stress, heredity.
"We recommend that you always consult a doctor for advice, and then self-medicate. Potential benefits should be carefully correlated with possible harm," he is sure.
Chairman of the Society of Evidence-Based Medicine Specialists Kirill Danishevsky:
"It is quite difficult to identify a group of people for whom the benefits of aspirin outweigh the harm. It takes gigantic samples to understand this. Therefore, when prescribing the drug to a healthy person, it is necessary to be careful. Of course, there is no doubt that aspirin is an effective remedy for those people who have already suffered a heart attack or ischemic stroke. But as for healthy people, the dispute has been going on for a long time. I still believe that a healthy lifestyle does not involve taking any medications. In other words, a person who does not have serious problems with the cardiovascular system does not need to take aspirin. Yes, there is a possibility that some reduction in the risk of heart attack is likely to occur, but in a healthy person this risk is already quite low."
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru03.09.2009