Benefits of aspirin are not always taken to heart

Patients are often unaware of their risk for cardiovascular disease.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. March 14, 2005.

Washington -- Aspirin has been a premier pain reliever through the ages and, more recently, its heart-healthy benefits have been touted. But many of those who are candidates for physician-recommended aspirin therapy are not taking advantage of it, a new survey says.

Preliminary results from a Harris Interactive survey sponsored by the American College of Preventive Medicine found that 43% of adults age 40 and older who are at increased risk for heart attacks and strokes are not taking aspirin.

Although doctors and other health professionals say they are discussing aspirin's benefits with patients, not nearly enough patients are following this advice, said George K. Anderson, MD, MPH, ACPM past president.

Although cancer recently surpassed cardiovascular disease as the most common cause of death in the United States, 1.2 million Americans will have a first or recurrent heart attack this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And prevention remains key to reducing that number.

Surveyors attributed one reason for the low use of aspirin to the fact that most people queried didn't know they were at an above-average risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Of the 1,299 men and women older than 40 who were surveyed, 42% were considered to be at increased risk in the next 10 years, yet only one-quarter of them realized it.

Those who would most benefit from aspirin therapy also are apparently not listening to their physicians. While nearly all health care professionals told surveyors that they are discussing the risks and benefits of aspirin therapy with the appropriate patients, many of those same patients said the discussions had not touched on aspirin's benefits.