Yes, Aspirin Does Prevent Heart Attacks

Yes, Aspirin Does Prevent Heart Attacks
Tue September 30, 2003 02:28 PM ET
By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The "current totality of evidence" strongly supports the notion that taking aspirin regularly can prevent a first heart attack.

That conclusion comes from Dr. Charles H. Hennekens at Mount Sinai Medical
Center-Miami Heart Institute in Florida and others, reporting in the
Archives of Internal Medicine.

Aspirin reduces the risk of a first heart attack "by about one-third,"
Hennekens told Reuters Health.

As far back as 1988, the Physician's Health Study involving some 22,000 participants showed that taking aspiring led to a "statistically extreme"
44-percent reduction in the risk of a first heart attack, the investigators note in their report.

On the heels of this study, however, the British Doctors' Trial, involving about 5100 men, failed to show a similar benefit.

Subsequently, three additional clinical trials looking at aspirin for the prevention of first heart attacks were published. Participants in at least one of the trials had one or more major risk factors for heart disease.

Hennekens and colleagues analyzed the pooled results from all five trials, finding that among the 55,000 apparently healthy participants, aspirin therapy was tied a significant 32-percent reduction in the risk of a first heart attack.

Aspirin therapy also reduced the risk of "all important vascular events" by
15 percent. However, the numbers of strokes and deaths from vascular disease occurring in the five trials were "insufficient to yield conclusive results," according the team.

Despite the benefits, aspirin is not risk-free and shouldn't be taken unless the pros outweigh the cons. "Any apparently healthy person (i.e., without a history of cardiovascular disease) contemplating aspirin should see their healthcare provider," Hennekens advised.

SOURCE: September 22nd issue of Archives of Internal Medicine 2003.

I read recently that a study showed uncoated aspirin to be more effective than coated aspirin.

I posted this comment on ASA last week and there were no responses.
It's relevent to this topic.

I remember reading (not sure where but those interested can google to find it) that uncoated ASA gave better results than enteric coated.

Also read that there have been findings (not yet studied on a large scale) showing that some people are ASA "resistant" meaning that even though they have been taking ASA regularly their blood did not have the expected anti clotting properties.

This seemed to explain why some low risk people taking ASA still suffer heart attacks. Look for upcoming publications on the efficacy of ASA and ASA resistance.

One article I read said there was a controversy over whether there should be standardized testing for clotting times (not sure the exact test) to determine who is ASA resistant and who is not so those resistant could be on other primary preventative drugs. Cost and lack of proof were cited as to why this is not being done yet.

Uncoated ASA vs coated also seemed to affect asa resistance with higher rates of resistance for people taking coated.

Of course this then stimulates the debate of the risk to the GI tract using uncoated vs coated.

Anyone with more current information care to comment?