Once Again, Aspirin Demonstrates Its True Miracle Potential
Sept. 12, 2001 -- Aspirin, the powerful little pill already known to prevent heart attacks, can also reduce the risk of death from any cause, even in people who are so out-of-shape that their inactivity increases their risk of dying, according to research from The Cleveland Clinic.
Michael S. Lauer, MD, who directs clinical research in the department of cardiology at The Cleveland Clinic, tells WebMD that although putting couch potatoes on daily aspirin therapy won't "make them fit, they willlive longer." The new research suggests that daily aspirin can cut the risk of death by 30% to 40% in people known to have or suspected to have heart disease.
In the study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, Lauer reports on more than 1,300 people who take a baby aspirin every day and compares them with 1,300 others who didn't take aspirin. All of them either had heart disease or were suspected to have it. They were the same in all respects -- age and physical condition, and diagnosis -- except that one group took aspirin. Lauer followed the patients for more than three years.
This latest news about aspirin comes more than 100 years after the tiny pill was first discovered. Originally marketed only for its ability to take on headache and other common aches and pains, in recent years aspirin has established itself as a standard treatment to prevent heart attacks.
Aspirin prevents blood cells called platelets from clumping together to form the blood clots that cause heart attacks. Heart experts believe that this antiplatelet action explains why giving an aspirin during a heart attack can stop the attack and limit the damage.
Lauer says that platelets also are affected by exercise. When people are out of shape, platelets are more active and more likely to form clots. His study suggests that this increased platelet activity is a good target for aspirin, which can shut down the platelets.
But Lauer says that most doctors are uneasy about recommending daily aspirin in patients who are very old or who are in poor physical condition.
Once Again, Aspirin Demonstrates Its True Miracle Potential
Sept. 12, 2001 -- Aspirin, the powerful little pill already known to prevent heart attacks, can also reduce the risk of death from any cause, even in people who are so out-of-shape that their inactivity increases their risk of dying, according to research from The Cleveland Clinic.
Michael S. Lauer, MD, who directs clinical research in the department of cardiology at The Cleveland Clinic, tells WebMD that although putting couch potatoes on daily aspirin therapy won't "make them fit, they willlive longer." The new research suggests that daily aspirin can cut the risk of death by 30% to 40% in people known to have or suspected to have heart disease.
In the study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, Lauer reports on more than 1,300 people who take a baby aspirin every day and compares them with 1,300 others who didn't take aspirin. All of them either had heart disease or were suspected to have it. They were the same in all respects -- age and physical condition, and diagnosis -- except that one group took aspirin. Lauer followed the patients for more than three years.
This latest news about aspirin comes more than 100 years after the tiny pill was first discovered. Originally marketed only for its ability to take on headache and other common aches and pains, in recent years aspirin has established itself as a standard treatment to prevent heart attacks.
Aspirin prevents blood cells called platelets from clumping together to form the blood clots that cause heart attacks. Heart experts believe that this antiplatelet action explains why giving an aspirin during a heart attack can stop the attack and limit the damage.
Lauer says that platelets also are affected by exercise. When people are out of shape, platelets are more active and more likely to form clots. His study suggests that this increased platelet activity is a good target for aspirin, which can shut down the platelets.
But Lauer says that most doctors are uneasy about recommending daily aspirin in patients who are very old or who are in poor physical condition.