To Take Or Not To Take
Just like anything else in life, sometimes a fresh look at an old subject is in line. When we look at things we have always done with the advantage of new data or information, new and improved changes may occur.
So, forever and a day so many people have been taking baby aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Countless baby aspirin has been consumed in the name of living longer and in good health. Well, a fresh look at this with the added advantage of new data has recently occurred, and guess what? New data drives new recommendations.
Now, if you have a history of heart disease heart or have a very strong family history of heart disease, hold on. If you have that type of history, be sure to take an assessment to quantify what your risk are. The fact is that it would not be a bad idea for all to take a risk assessment. There are a host of assessments you can take. An example is the ACC/AHA Cardiovascular Risk Calculator. You can find it online and answer the questions to get an idea of your cardiovascular risk. Here people with a greater than 10% ten-year cardiovascular risk are of concern. This evaluation is just a starting place. Of course, you should review this with your health care provider and together see if you are at increased risk for cardiovascular problems and what are the proper steps should be taken.
The new deep dive into the question of if you should or should not be taking low dose aspirin looks at if taking the aspirin is beneficial to you or not.
New data has shown that taking that aspirin daily can increase the chances of possible gastrointestinal bleeding in some people, and intracranial bleeding in others. Either of these events can cause harm and even death. These are the questions that must be answered as to if taking the aspirin is a net loss or net gain for you.
We know with greater age there is a greater possibility of bleeding with taking the aspirin. Remember we stop prescribing most arthritis medications at age 70. Aspirin and arthritis medications are close cousins.
The bottom line is that gone are the days of just taking a baby aspirin as a way of taking better care of yourself. You could be harming yourself. Talk to your health care provider and see what is best for you.
Dr. Veita Bland, M.D. is a board-certified family medicine physician. She is the host of “It’s A Matter Of Your Health” radio show and podcast. Go to www.drblandradio.com to listen to past episodes of the show.
