The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new draft recommendations that no longer advise using aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke for some groups. Many people take a daily low-dose pill to help prevent heart attack or stroke. But new evidence has found that taking a daily aspirin can raise the risk of certain complications.
The task force also concluded that starting aspirin use to prevent CVD events in adults aged 60 or older has no benefit at all. Some groups are still advised to take daily aspirin.
“These recommendations do not apply to people who have had a heart attack or stroke, or have a stent in an artery,” Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, volunteer president for the American Heart Association (AHA), said in a statement.
“Those patients should remain on aspirin as prescribed by their doctor,” he continued. “But in adults without known cardiovascular disease, we continue to urge clinicians to be very selective when prescribing aspirin.”
Not recommended for people with increased bleeding risk “Bleeding is a major concern in patients 60 and older who are at risk for heart disease if they are newly placed on a daily baby aspirin regimen,” Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital said. Glatter noted that a significant concern for older patients on long-term baby aspirin regimens is the risk of bleeding in the brain from head trauma experienced in falls.
