U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a consumer update regarding usage of Aspirin in patients with and without previous heart disease and stroke. Scientific evidence has shown that daily Aspirin can help in prevention heart attack and Stroke in some patients but not all. Aspirin should only be taken after the advice of a Doctor who can determine the risk-benefit ratio.
Clinical research data since the 1990s has shown that daily dose of Aspirin (A dose ranges from the 80 milligrams (mg) in a low-dose tablet to the 325 mg in a regular strength tablet.) can help in the prevention of heart attack, stroke and blood vessel disease. This is known as “Secondary prevention”.
Data has also shown that Aspirin usage in prevention by patients who have never suffered from above-mentioned illnesses (Known as “Primary prevention”) has no benefit. Also, people who have had a family history of heart diseases or stroke are also not benefitted by prophylactic Aspirin.
FDA update states “There are a number of ongoing, large-scale clinical studies continuing to investigate the use of aspirin in primary prevention of heart attack or stroke. FDA is monitoring these studies and will continue to examine the evidence as it emerges.”
It is a widely known fact that Aspirin helps in prevention of Heart attack, stroke and blood vessel diseases which might lead to patients taking aspirin without knowing the fact that it is only helpful in primary prevention. Unsupervised usage of Aspirin might lead to side effects (Like peptic ulcers) which might harm the patient instead of help in the prevention of diseases. So it is always recommended to take Aspirin or for that matter any drug only after it is prescribed by a registered medical practitioner (Doctor).
