Aspirin is a medicine that is commonly used to relieve pain and inflammation, and is also used to prevent heart attacks and strokes in some people.
Researchers from the University of Freiburg have found that aspirin use is linked to a 26% raised risk of heart failure in people with at least one risk factor for the condition.
Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart is not able to pump blood effectively throughout the body, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling in the legs and ankles.
It is a serious condition that can be caused by a variety of factors, including high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and heart valve problems.
While there is no cure for heart failure, it can be managed with lifestyle changes, medications, and sometimes surgery.
The study looked at data from 30,827 people who were at risk of developing heart failure due to factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease.
The participants were aged 40 years and above, and were free of heart failure before the study began.
Aspirin use was recorded at the start of the study, and the participants were classified as either users or non-users.
Over the course of the five-year study, 1,330 participants developed heart failure. The team found that taking aspirin was linked to a 26% raised risk of a new heart failure diagnosis.
The results were consistent even after matching aspirin users and non-users for heart failure risk factors, and after excluding patients with a history of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers suggest that aspirin should be prescribed with caution in those with heart failure or with risk factors for the condition.
They also note that one in four participants in the study was taking aspirin, highlighting the need for further research into the potential risks and benefits of aspirin use.
The study was conducted by Dr. Blerim Mujaj and his team and was published in the journal ESC Heart Failure.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about supplements that could help prevent heart disease, stroke, and results showing that a year of committed exercise in middle age reversed worrisome heart failure.
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