Harvard University: Millions of people are wasting their time taking aspirin to prevent heart disease

Those who have thought that taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease or stroke will have to rethink when it was announced recently, aspirin has almost no effect against cardiovascular disease with healthy people, not to mention to a variety of other dangerous side effects.

According to a recent study by scientists at Harvard University, millions of people around the world who are taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease may have to rethink about taking this medicine.

Most cardiologists recommend low doses of aspirin for patients who suffer from or diagnose cardiovascular disease and are at high risk of stroke. However, for healthy people, that advice doesn't work at all . Even so, there are millions of healthy people in the world, especially older people who are taking aspirin every day because they believe that drugs can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The wrong thought has now been pointed out by the medical community but it seems that the number of people who know this information does not seem much.

For healthy people, aspirin does not work to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Research by scientists using survey data in the past few years to get an overall picture of everyone's aspirin use. Results showed that a large number of people were taking aspirin even though it did not bring any clear health benefits.

According to the Annals of Internal Medicine report, an estimated 10 million people over the age of 70 without a history of heart disease are still taking aspirin daily as a preventative measure. According to a new study from Harvard Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess, about 29 million people aged 40 and older use aspirin every day despite not having heart disease in 2017. Especially about 6.6 million the person who drank without following the advice of the doctors.

Confusion is inevitable because there is no in-depth study of the effects of aspirin on cardiovascular health. For years, doctors have advised older patients to take aspirin even without heart disease. Previously, doctors thought that the blood-thinning properties of aspirin could reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. But then last year, three new studies challenged these misconceptions.

The long series of studies has conducted aspirin testing in people at low and moderate risk of heart attack. In particular, research results only find a few negligible benefits, especially for older people. However, the side effects of taking aspirin are noticeable, such as gastrointestinal bleeding and other side effects.

The American Heart Association has previously withdrawn recommendations for daily aspirin use since early 2019. In addition, the association noted that people over 70 who do not have heart disease should avoid taking aspirin daily. . Notice also indicated that people aged 40-70 years can take aspirin daily but must follow the doctor's instructions.

Advice for people with a previous history of heart disease or stroke still "should" take aspirin as directed by a doctor. However, for people who "don't have heart disease" , they should not take this medicine just to prevent heart disease.

Now, the risks and benefits of taking aspirin without heart disease have been widely shared. Therefore each person needs to be more proactive in understanding information and avoiding using drugs for the wrong purposes.

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