Originally published June 28 2005
British doctors say taking an aspirin a day significantly reduces heart attack risk
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Doctors in Britain believe the simple habit of taking a single aspirin pill a day could prevent a quarter of all heart attacks, reports the Daily Mail, and they say this advice applies to everyone over 50, not just those who have had a heart attack already. What they don't mention, however, is how many people die from gastrointestinal bleeding from taking aspirin.
Professor Peter Elwood and colleagues at Cardiff University's College of Medicine want more widespread use based on evidence it could bring benefits to patients not covered by current guidelines.
He said doctors typically recommend aspirin to patients who have a three per cent or higher chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next five years.
But by the age of 50, 80 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women could reach this level of risk, according to a report today in the British Medical Journal.
Studies also suggest a daily aspirin can lower the risk of Alzheimer's by up to 70 per cent, help prevent breast and colon cancer and extend the lives of men with prostate cancer.
Professor Elwood said: "The possibility that a simple, daily, inexpensive low dose pill would achieve a reduction in vascular events, and might achieve reductions in cancer and dementia without the need for screening, deserves serious consideration."
Around 90 to 95 per cent of the public could take low dose aspirin without problems in later life, he claimed.
Professor Elwood first backed wider use at a conference in April.
Dr Colin Baigent of the Clinical Trial Service Unit at Oxford Radcliffe Infirmary warned of the dangers in an article also carried in the BMJ.
More trials should be carried out which compare low dose aspirin with a 'dummy' pill in older people, he said.
"A recommendation that aspirin be used for primary prevention of vascular disease in unselected people over a certain age could result in net harm, and we must have very good evidence to the contrary before instituting such a policy," he added.
Researchers monitored 2,400 patients from 24 hospitals in the Netherlands who had suffered a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or minor ischaemic stroke.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml