Should Healthy Seniors Take Aspirin Daily? New Study Raises Questions

In this study, 70 and older, no benefit at all and potentially some harm,” Agus said. “In age 50, there’s a clear benefit in people who have high risk for heart disease that’s greater than 10 percent chance, and there’s a benefit on cancer, particularly colon cancer, in that study. In age 60 and above, it’s really the decision of the doctor and the patient together.” According to Agus, the big takeaway from the study is to not start taking aspirin in your 70s if you aren’t already on it. “This is an important study and a well-done study and it means if you haven’t started in your fifth or sixth decade, don’t start at age 70 based on these data,” Agus said. Agus said even with this new research, aspirin was still clearly beneficial after a heart event. “100 percent. So clearly, during chest pain, take an aspirin,” Agus said. “After a heart event, that data are clear, is that you need to continue taking an aspirin no matter what age you are, if your doctor says it’s appropriate for your situation.” Agus said aspirin recommendations are a confusing area since 20 to 30 years ago, when many aspirin studies were done, people smoked more, generally weighed less and took fewer medications to help with cholesterol. “It’s very hard to say, do the old studies apply now or not?” Agus said. “It’s a confusing area and we’re going to get more data over th...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health News aspirin Local TV Source Type: news