A task force of medical experts plans to suspend longstanding guidance on the use of low-dose aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in patients without a history of heart disease.
So-called ‘baby aspirin’ had been encouraged as a tool to prevent blood clots, but now the US Preventive Services Task Force has released a draft statement saying there’s no blanket policy that could be applied to every patient. Instead, the panel of experts wants Americans to consult with their doctors.
“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,” Task Force member Dr. John Wong said in a statement. “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.”
Dr. Chien-Wen Tseng, a member of the national task force and the research director of family medicine and community health at the University of Hawaii, told The New York Times that Americans already on a low-dose aspirin regiment should consult with their medical provider before abandoning it. “We don’t recommend anyone stop without talking to a clinician, and definitely not if they have already had a heart attack or stroke.”
However, Tseng said that Americans over 60 who have not experienced a heart attack or stroke and who are not currently taking a low-dose regiment should avoid it.
CNN provides additional context:
In 2019, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released guidelines saying that daily low-dose aspirin is no longer recommended as a preventative for older adults who don’t have a high risk or existing heart disease.
In 2018, a trio of studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that a daily low-dose aspirin regimen provides no significant health benefits for healthy older adults. Instead, it may cause them serious harm.
The Times adds:
The national task force draft report also questions another use of aspirin, whether it reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the United States and which has been on the rise among younger adults for reasons that aren’t clear.
In reversing its five-year-old endorsement of aspirin to help prevent colorectal cancer, the report pointed to new data from a randomized controlled study called Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly. In that study, aspirin use was linked to an almost doubling of colorectal cancer deaths after nearly five years of follow-up.
The task force is accepting public comments on its draft recommendations until November 8th.
