A Woman’s Heart Benefits from Aspirin Therapy
Many older women could be benefiting from aspirin therapy, but their doctors
are not telling them about it. Until recently most doctors thought that aspirin
therapy was of little help to women. It has long been believed that women did
not need aspirin therapy because estrogen provides natural hormone protection
from heart disease. Also women have not been well represented in previous
studies using aspirin as prevention for heart disease. Using the latest
information from the Women’s Health Study that included over 40,000 women over
the age of 45 has shown doctors that taking low-dose aspirin every other day is
of greater benefit to older women than previously thought. This large study
looked at women and aspirin use for more than a decade and found that most
women over the age of 65 should talk to their doctors about aspirin therapy to
protect against a heart attack.
Your doctor will decide if aspirin therapy is right for you by assessing
your particular risk factors verses the potential benefits. This latest
research is based on low-dose aspirin (81mg) every other day on a regular
basis. The researchers admit that an exact dose has not been determined yet.
You need to talk to your doctor before trying it, because aspirin therapy is
not as simple as it may seem. There are some serious risks—including stroke
(because aspirin is a blood thinner). Because of this and other risks including
bleeding and gastrointestinal damage, your doctor may prescribe a combination
of aspirin and other medication(s). Don’t experiment on your own!
If low-dose aspirin therapy is recommended by your doctor, try it. It is an
inexpensive way to avoid a heart attack or prevent a second heart attack.
SOURCES: National Institutes of Health; The New England Journal of Medicine
www.nih.gov/news/pr/mar2005/nhlbi-07.htm
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/352/13/1293