Healthy people taking a daily does of aspirin to prevent heart attacks may be doing themselves more harm than good, according t new study by British scientists. Researchers found that the risks of bleeding from taking aspirin were such that its routine use in healthy people "cannot be supported" although they did not dispute its use in patients with a history of vascular problems. They found that taking aspirin had no benefits for people without any symptoms of heart disease and it can can bleeding in stom
ach.The results of the Aspirin for Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis ( AAA) study add to a long-running debate about whether the potential dangers of taking aspirin could outweigh the benefits from reducing the risk of clots. "The finding agree with our current advice that people who do not have symptomatic or diagnosed artery of heart disease should not take aspirin, because the risk of bleeding may out weigh the benefits," said Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation.
The study involved 3,350 men and women aged 50 to 75 years who had no symptoms of heart disease or history of heart attack. They were given either a daily 100mg dose of aspirin or a placebo ( a dummy pill) and monitored over eight years. While there was no difference in the number of heart attacks or strokes, major bleeding occurred in two percent of the aspirin group compared to just 1.2 percent of the placebo group.
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