New Recommendations Say More Americans Should Take Aspirin

A government task force says a daily low-dose aspirin could help certain people in their 50s and 60s prevent a first heart attack or stroke – and might also protect against colon cancer if they take it long enough.

The group furthers this advice as patients can significantly decrease their risk for colon cancer if they take aspirin for at least a decade. And although aspirin does not carry an FDA-approved label attesting to its ability to reduce heart attack and stroke risk, the new guidelines reflect the utility of aspirin use in a select group of at-risk people. The risk is based on the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology calculator, which takes into account cholesterol and blood pressure. That’s because prolonged aspirin use can trigger serious bleeding, in the gastrointestinal tract or brain.

Whether or not daily low-dose aspirin should be used as a primary intervention to lower the risk of such events, however, has been a topic of much debate in recent years. There were no recommendations for people under the age of 50 or older than 70, and the new guidelines warned patients to consult their doctor and assess their individual risk for bleeding complications.

In relation to dosing, the vary that has been studied runs the gamut from excessive to low, however CBS Information medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula, a heart specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York Metropolis, says sticking to low-dose child aspirin is greatest.

The task force recommendations only apply to people at increased risk for heart disease, not people who have had a heart attack or stroke and are trying to prevent a second episode, said Dr. Elliott Antman, immediate past president of the American Heart Association.

“Evidence shows that risk for GI bleeding, with and without aspirin use, increases with age”, the group wrote.

“All of this is recommended in the context of living a healthy lifestyle”, he said.

Nissen worries that many people are mistaking their actual heart disease risk. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States.

If you want to know if you have a high risk for heart disease, talk to your doctor.

“There is more evidence about aspirin and colorectal cancer than there is about any other cancer”.