Forget your daily aspirin regimen

If I’m feeling achy, I sometimes take a couple of aspirin before bed. I can’t really tell if it does anything, what with being asleep and all. Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory. It’s also a blood thinner, so lots of people take a small dose—as recommended by their doctors—in the hopes of staving off heart disease. Now it turns out that the daily aspirin has no benefit as a preventive measure and can in fact be harmful.

From 2010 through 2014 scientists in the US and Australia conducted a major study of more than 19,000 people aged 65 and older who had no dementia, cardiovascular disease, or physical disability. Half got 100 mg of aspirin (baby aspirin is typically 81 mg) and half got a placebo. The result: taking the aspirin did not lower their risks of cardiovascular disease, dementia, or disability.  In fact, it increased the risk of significant bleeding in the digestive tract, brain or other sites, sometimes requiring transfusion or admission to the hospital. Or, in the conclusion of the report, “Aspirin use in healthy elderly persons did not prolong disability-free survival over a period of 5 years but led to a higher rate of major hemorrhage than placebo.” (Researchers are quick to point out that the new findings don’t apply to those who have already had heart attacks or strokes, which usually involve blog clots. As I said above, aspirin is a blood thinner.) What’s more, the death rate was higher in those taking the aspirin than those on the placebo, mostly because of a higher rate of cancer deaths. The scientists wonder if excess bleeding could have contributed to these deaths. 

I like the idea of aspirin. It’s been used medicinally as far back as ancient Egypt, where people concocted the medicine from willow bark. A natural remedy!  It’s been manufactured synthetically since 1899. The problem for me is that it doesn’t work as well as Advil (ibuprofen). In fact, I discovered that Advil plus gin works best. (Need I write a disclaimer here?)

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