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Many older adults in the United States who take daily pills to promote cardiovascular health and prevent events like heart attacks and strokes may be taking the wrong medicine, according to a study published in February 2021 in the
For the study, researchers examined data collected between 2011 and 2018 from 11,392 adults age 50 and older about their history of cardiovascular events and any use of aspirin, a common over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), or statins, prescription drugs that lower cholesterol.
Low-dose aspirin use was more common with older age, with more than 45 percent of people 75 and older taking the drug daily to help prevent a first-time cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke, a strategy known as primary prevention. The trouble with this is that aspirin has been shown to help prevent heart attacks and strokes in middle-aged adults, but not in the elderly, says the lead study author, Greg Rhee, PhD, an assistant profe
This is according to a team of researchers, who found that 45-year-olds with a naturally slow pace when walking have bodies that exhibit signs of accelerated aging. These signs included impaired immune function and unhealthy lungs and teeth.
Even worse was that these individuals also had lower total brain volumes, less brain surface area and more small lesions than people their age who walked faster. These signs are all indicative of much older brains.
“The thing that’s really striking is that this is in 45-year-old people, not the geriatric patients who are usually assessed with such measures,” Line JH Rasmussen, a post-doctoral researcher at
Roughly half of all adults age 75 and older in the United States take aspirin or a statin to prevent the onset of heart disease, despite the limited benefits of these drugs for older people, a study found.
Statistically, Not Enough People Take Statins
Too many people are taking aspirin for heart health when it may not be effective for them.
Statins may be a better option for many people looking for heart healthy choices than more commonly recommended aspirin, according to UConn Health researchers (Getty Images). Copy Link
Too many people take aspirin to prevent heart disease, and not enough people take statins, UConn Health researchers report in the February 17 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The results are especially significant for people aged 75 and older.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization. Often simply called heart disease, cardiovascular disease is an illness of the blood vessels, both inside and outside of the heart. The blood vessels become irritated and narrowed by fatty deposits. Occasionally they clog completely, which can cause a heart attack or str
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