Aspirin Use Rises Among Heart Disease-Wary Americans
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It’s cheap, it’s easy, it works and more Americans are using aspirin regularly to prevent cardiovascular disease and the cardiovascular complications of diabetes, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“We saw an increase in aspirin use among U.S adults since 1999, with a majority of adults using aspirin to reduce the chance of a heart attack or stroke,” said lead author Umed Ajani, epidemiologist with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “Aspirin use among those with diabetes is also increasing to reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications. The trend is encouraging, especially in times when prevalence of other cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes, is increasing.”
“The implication is that doctors and the media and paid advertising by [aspirin manufacturers] have had a positive impact,” said Richard Stein, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at Beth Israel Medical Center and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “The approximately one-third reduction in heart attacks and fatal heart attacks in patients taking aspirin will help reduce the death and disability from coronary heart disease in the United States.”
Noting the potential side effects of aspirin use, Stein added, “Since aspirin is associated with a risk of increased gastrointestinal bleeding and a slight risk of a bleeding-associated stroke, it should not be used in patients who are not at increased risk of heart disease and it is thus important that people speak with their doctors before starting to take aspirin.”
In the study, investigators looked at the prevalence of aspirin use among U.S. adults overall as well as among those with cardiovascular disease and those with diabetes, comparing data from the 1999 and 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey, an annual, random-digit-dial telephone survey.
Surveyors asked participants 35 years and older, “Do you take aspirin either daily or every other day?” Those who did were then asked to state specifically why they take aspirin -for pain relief, to reduce the chance of a heart attack and/or to reduce a stroke. The subjects were also asked about any history of heart attack, angina or coronary disease, stroke or diabetes.
In 2003, regular aspirin use was reported by 36.2 percent of the 67,697 participants from 24 states and the District of Columbia. Aspirin use among those with cardiovascular disease and diabetes was 82.8 percent and 62.6 percent, respectively.
Compared to the 1999 data, prevalence of aspirin use was up by 20 percent overall, 12 percent for people with cardiovascular disease and 36 percent for those with diabetes.
The investigators reported that most participants (74 percent) used aspirin for cardiovascular health reasons, and that for those without cardiovascular disease or diabetes, the prevalence of aspirin intake increased with the increasing number of cardiovascular risk factors.
The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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