Over 60s warned about taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks
People over 60 have been warned about regularly taking aspirin as a way to prevent heart attacks.
According to the US Preventive Services Task Force, the risks of internal bleeding would cancel the benefits of taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular diseases in people over 60.
As reported by the Telegraph, the US health task group argued that aspirin might have a small benefit in preventing heart attacks and strokes for adults in their 40s while a “closer balance of benefits and harms” is present for those in their 50s.
“Daily aspirin use may help prevent heart attacks and strokes in some people, but it can also cause potentially serious harms, such as internal bleeding,” the Telegraph reported Dr John Wong, a member of the task force, as saying.
“It’s important that people who are 40 to 59 years old and don’t have a history of heart disease have a conversation with their clinician to decide together if starting to take aspirin is right for them.”
“The latest evidence is clear: starting a daily aspirin regimen in people who are 60 or older to prevent a first heart attack or stroke is not recommended,” added Dr Chien-Wen Tseng another member of the committee.
The NHS invite patients to talk to their doctors about taking blood thinning medicine such as aspirin, taking no more than the prescribed dose – which is usually between 75mg and 300mg per day.
“Your doctor will discuss what dose is right for you. It’s important to take low-dose aspirin exactly as recommended by your doctor,” read the NHS’s leaflet for low-dose aspirin.