Americans should limit use of aspirin to prevent heart attacks or stroke, medical panel rules

‘If you don’t have a history of heart attack and stroke, you shouldn’t be starting on aspirin just because you reach a certain age’

An influential medical panel is advising Americans over the age of 60 against taking aspirin to combat the dangers of heart attacks and strokes.

In a major overhaul of its recommendations, the US Preventive Services Task Force now says there is little to no net benefit of people in that age group taking small daily doses of aspirin.

“Our message … is if you don’t have a history of heart attack and stroke, you shouldn’t be starting on aspirin just because you reach a certain age,” Dr Chien-Wen Tseng, a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), said.

The new guidelines appear in a draft recommendation statement from the task force and are based on recent studies.

For the first time, the panel said there may be a small benefit for adults in their 40s who have no bleeding risks. For those in their 50s, the panel softened advice and said evidence of benefit is less clear.

The recommendations are meant for people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or other conditions that increase their chances for a heart attack or stroke.

Aspirin thins the blood and can prevent heart attacks and strokes by reducing the risk of blood clots.

The task force says taking small doses of the drug can have a “small net benefit” for people aged between 40 and 59 who are at risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, in a turnaround, it now advises people over 60 shouldn’t start taking aspirin as there is no net benefit.

“At that point, the higher risk of bleeding with age actually cancels out the potential benefit of aspirin,” Dr Tseng said.

Dr. Lauren Block, an internist-researcher at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York, said the guidance is important because so many adults take aspirin even though they have never had a heart attack or stroke.

Regardless of age, the task force says aspirin should only be taken in consultation with a health provider.

Anyone already taking aspiring should consult with their doctor before stopping taking aspirin.

Rita Seefeldt, 63, has high blood pressure and took a daily aspirin for about a decade until her doctor told her two years ago to stop.

“He said they changed their minds on that,’’ the retired elementary school teacher from Milwaukee told Associated Press.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for about 1 in 3 deaths.

Each year, an estimated 605,000 Americans have a first heart attack and about 610,000 experience a first stroke.

Agencies contributed to this report