Aspirin is a medicine that many people take every day to help with pain, swelling, or to protect their heart.
It has been around for over 100 years and is often seen as a safe and helpful drug.
But new research from the University of Freiburg in Germany shows that aspirin might not be as safe as we once thought—at least not for everyone.
In this large study, scientists wanted to understand how aspirin affects the heart, especially in people who might already be at risk for heart problems. They looked at data from over 30,000 adults who were 40 years old or older.
None of these people had heart failure when the study began. But many of them had health issues that can lead to heart failure in the future, such as high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, or existing heart disease.
The researchers followed the participants for five years. They watched to see who used aspirin and who didn’t, and whether anyone developed heart failure during that time. About 25% of the people in the study (7,698 individuals) were taking aspirin.
By the end of the study, 1,330 people had developed heart failure serious enough to require hospital treatment.
After looking closely at the numbers, the scientists found something surprising. People who took aspirin had a 26% higher chance of developing heart failure compared to those who didn’t take it. Even after removing people with a history of heart disease from the analysis, the risk remained high.
Among the 22,690 participants who had no heart disease when the study started, those who took aspirin still had a 27% greater risk of developing heart failure.
This study shows that taking aspirin may not be harmless for everyone. In fact, for people with certain health risks, aspirin could make things worse. Doctors and patients need to think carefully before using aspirin, especially if the person has other risk factors for heart problems.
The lead researcher, Dr. Blerim Mujaj, published the study in the journal ESC Heart Failure. He and his team believe that medical advice about aspirin needs to be more personal. Instead of giving aspirin to everyone who is at risk of heart disease, doctors should look at each person’s health history to decide if aspirin is really the best choice.
This research does not mean that aspirin is always dangerous. It is still very useful for some people, especially those who have already had heart attacks or strokes. But for people who have never had heart problems, it may be time to reconsider whether taking aspirin is a good idea.
More research is needed to fully understand how aspirin affects the heart. But for now, this study gives us a reason to be more careful and to talk to a doctor before starting or continuing aspirin on a regular basis.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about This diabetes drug may increase heart failure risk and Common diabetes drug can also prevent heart and kidney diseases.
For more about heart health, please read studies about Aspirin and heart failure: what you should know and This diabetes drug could protect heart and kidney health.
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