'Not enough over-50s' taking aspirin to prevent heart disease
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“Aspirin a day could dramatically cut cancer and heart disease risk… study claims,” the Mail Online reports.
US researchers ran a simulation of what might happen if all Americans over 50 years old took aspirin on a daily basis. Their results found that people would live about four months longer on average, adding 900,000 people to the US population by 2036.
The study was designed to demonstrate the possible long-term effects of more people taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease.
It should be pointed out that there is an important difference between UK and US guidelines. In the UK, low-dose aspirin is usually recommended for people with a history of heart disease or stroke. In the US this advice is extended to people who are at risk of cardiovascular disease but don’t have it yet.
We already know that aspirin reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes caused by blood clots (ischaemic stroke). There’s some evidence it may reduce some types of cancer. However, aspirin also...
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