A new study from Johns Hopkins University has found that many older Americans are still taking baby aspirin every day to try to prevent heart problems—even though new medical advice says they probably shouldn’t.
For a long time, doctors told people to take a low-dose aspirin every day to stop heart attacks or strokes. Aspirin helps thin the blood, which can stop clots from forming in the heart or brain. These clots are one of the main causes of heart attacks and strokes.
But newer research has shown that aspirin can also cause serious side effects, especially in older people. One of the biggest problems is internal bleeding, which can happen in the stomach or brain. As people get older, their risk of bleeding goes up, so the dangers of aspirin can be greater than the benefits for many older adults.
In this new study, researchers looked at health data from more than 7,100 adults in the U.S. aged 60 and older. They found that a large number of people over 70 were still taking low-dose aspirin, even if they had never had a heart attack or stroke.
The results showed that about 50% to 62% of people over 70 were using aspirin every day. Even more surprising, nearly 10 million older Americans who are not at high risk for heart disease may be taking aspirin daily when they don’t need it.
Today’s medical guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association say that people over 70 who have never had heart problems should not take aspirin every day. The risks of bleeding are just too high for most people in this age group.
Aspirin still helps people who have already had a heart attack or stroke. In those cases, the benefits of preventing a second problem usually outweigh the risks. But if someone has never had heart problems, aspirin might not be the best choice.
In the past, doctors often recommended aspirin to people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or other risk factors. But now, many experts say it’s better to use other treatments, like statins, to lower cholesterol and protect the heart without raising the risk of bleeding.
For people aged 40 to 70 who don’t bleed easily, aspirin might still be helpful, depending on their health. But once someone turns 70, the general advice is to stop using aspirin for heart protection unless there’s a special reason.
Many older people started taking aspirin years ago, when the guidelines were different. Doctors now suggest having a talk with your healthcare provider to see if it’s still the right choice for you.
It’s always a good idea to review your medications with your doctor. This way, you can make sure everything you’re taking is safe and still needed.
In short, while baby aspirin helped many people in the past, its use is now being questioned for older adults. If you’re over 70 and taking aspirin daily to prevent heart problems, it might be time to ask your doctor if you should keep doing so.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about a new cause of heart rhythm disorders and eating just one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables daily can reduce heart disease risk.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about blood thinners that may not prevent stroke in people with heartbeat problems and this diabetes drug may protect heart health in older veterans.
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