Should You Take A Baby Aspirin Every Day?

A reader writes, “I’ve been taking a baby aspirin daily for years to prevent a heart attack. Now, I’ve read that not everyone should take this pill.” She then added, “So is there a natural way to decrease the risk of coronary attack?”

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Acetylsalicyclic acid (ASA), commonly known as aspirin, has been extolled for years (also by this journalist), as a way to prevent heart attack. But new research suggests that this common practice needs to be reexamined. Dr. Colin Baigent, at Oxford University, recently reported findings of a study in the British journal “Lancet”, involving 95,000 patients. The authors concluded that, for apparently healthy individuals, there is questionable benefit from taking ASA, but for patients who have already had a heart attack, or were at risk of having one due to obesity, diabetes, hypertension or a family history of coronary disease, it was prudent to continue this medication. In March, 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reached a similar conclusion. They advised that men 45 to 79 years of age, who were at high risk of heart attack, should consider taking a daily low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams). But for women there was no advantage until 55 years of age, and this was limited to decreasing the risk of stroke during the next 10 years. Some researchers say that cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) could be used in place of aspirin. Dr. Malcolm Law, of London’s Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, suggests another approach to circumvent cardiovascular accidents. He proposes the use of a “polypill” every day, a combination of ASA, a blood pressure pill and CLD. This is a questionable approach since we do not know the long-term effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs. And surely North Americans are already taking enough drugs. But if you’re healthy, what harm is there in taking a daily baby aspirin, just in case it prevents a lethal coronary attack? If that’s your conclusion, it then becomes a game of Russian roulette. You may get lucky. ASA may save you from heart attack or help you survive one. But the downside is that the regular use of ASA by healthy patients may cause serious and sometimes fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhage. It’s estimated that in North America 22,000 people die every year from this complication. That’s a huge price to pay for taking a “baby” aspirin. So is there a natural way to prevent coronary attack? Several authorities say an enzyme called, nattokinase, is effective and free of side-effects. It’s derived from a popular Japanese fermented soybean dish called natto. In a recent study, researchers gave nattokinase to healthy patients, those at risk of heart disease, and another group currently undergoing kidney dialysis who are particularly prone to blood clots. At the end of three months all groups showed a decrease in clotting factors. The authors concluded that nattokinase is a serious deterrent to the formation of blood clots, thereby preventing coronary attack. In Canada Nattokinase can be purchased at health food stores. In the U.S. a reliable source is Vitamin Research Products. See the web site VRP.com or call the toll-free number 1-800-877-2447. But check with your doctor before taking any medication. So what should medical consumers do? I interviewed Dr. Marco Di Buono, Director of Research of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. He says, “As a general rule taking a daily aspirin to prevent heart attack does more harm than good for healthy individuals”. He adds, “eating more vegetables and adding more whole grains foods to the diet will result in a 30 percent decrease in cardiovascular risk and chance of dying.” I say “ Amen” to his remarks. What North Americans need is to stop looking for pills to prevent heart disease. Pogo was right when he remarked in the comic strip, “We have identified the enemy and the enemy is us”. Rampant obesity leads to type 2 diabetes, which in turn causes atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries), then hypertension and heart attack. It’s a tragedy that self-imposed faulty lifestyle triggers most heart attacks. Let’s not forget that heart disease is the number one killer. So in these difficult financial times, that’s more reason to support and follow the research of The Heart and Stroke Foundation.