Credit: PCORI
WASHINGTON, DC--People with cardiovascular disease (CVD) taking aspirin to lower their chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke experienced similar health benefits, including reduced death and hospitalization for heart attack and stroke, whether they took a high or low dose of aspirin, according to a study presented today at ACC.21, the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session and published in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
CVD--and atherosclerosis, in particular, which is a narrowing and hardening of the arteries--is a leading cause of death for men, women, and most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, with estimated direct costs of $214 billion, according to the American Heart Association. Millions of Americans with CVD take recommended aspirin therapy to help reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke, a decades-long practice that has, until now, lacked definitive research studying the doses that work best for patients and minimize potentially serious side effects, such as major bleeding.