Clarify the Role of Aspirin for Disease Prevention

Many patients are still taking a daily dose of aspirin even though it’s no longer recommended for them.

Taking aspirin to prevent a FIRST heart attack or stroke might have a small net benefit in select patients aged 40 to 60 years who are at high risk of cardiac events and low bleeding risk. But it doesn’t seem to improve length or quality of life for most patients over 60.

But most patients shouldn’t take daily aspirin if they’ve never had a heart attack or stroke before...even if they have multiple risk factors for heart disease.