ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Millions of Americans take a daily aspirin in hopes that it will help protect their heart, but that is no longer recommended for many people because the benefits don’t outweigh the risks.
A daily aspirin used to be recommended for older adults, but that guideline was changed a few years ago, based on new research.
A new national poll from the University of Michigan finds one-in-four adults over 50 are still taking an aspirin a day, and that number was even higher for adults 75 years or older.
There was a lot of advertising from aspirin companies when it was first recommended, but they aren’t advertising the change. Additionally, many think aspirin is pretty harmless and have just adopted this habit and stuck with it.
“We were fascinated to find out that of the people who responded to our survey taking aspirin, almost all of them, more than 95%, told us they believe that aspirin would prevent a heart attack or prevent a stroke,” said Dr. Geoffrey Barnes, a cardiologist at U-M Health. “Amongst all of those people who told us they were using aspirin, we found that more than half of them did not have a history of a prior heart attack or stroke. And that means that those patients might not need to be on aspirin.”
The concern is that aspirin can also increase the risk of bleeding.
Aspirin is likely most beneficial for people with a history of heart attack or stroke, especially those in their 50s and 60s.
“For older adults, 70 and older, we know that aspirin could still help to prevent heart attack and stroke, but it’s the risk of bleeding that becomes even greater,” Barnes said. “So, for those people who’ve never had a heart attack or stroke risk, now the bleeding risk has gotten higher, and we don’t usually recommend they start an aspirin.”
Barnes said it’s critical to talk to your doctor before you start or stop taking aspirin daily.
“We used to recommend aspirin for everyone over the age of 40, or 50. But now aspirin use is a little bit more personalized,” Barnes said. “In younger adults, it’s really undetermined whether they should be on aspirin, really important that you talk to your doctor to figure out if aspirin is right for you.”
People often forget to mention they’re taking a daily aspirin to their doctor, but that really is important and can impact the other medications you’re taking as well.
It’s also important to remember that everything that has an effect can also have a side effect, so we want to be smart about when aspirin is beneficial and when it is not.