We read with great interest the Article by Chris Hawkey and colleagues1 on the Helicobacter Eradication Aspirin Trial (HEAT). The authors should be commended for performing such a complex trial. Although the trial was conceived to evaluate the role of Helicobacter pylori eradication in older patients (aged ≥60 years) prescribed aspirin, the study was not planned to verify eradication. A breath retest was randomly performed in only 10% of patients, reporting H pylori eradication in 146 (90·7%) of 161 patients receiving active eradication therapy.