Daily aspirin more likely to cause bleeding than prevent heart attack
According to, Dr. Mark Stengler
If old habits die hard, then daily aspirin is practically a vampire.
No matter how many studies prove "aspirin therapy" is all risk and little benefit, people keep at it. And when I ask them why, I often hear the same story.
"Well, there's always a small chance it might help -- and it hasn't hurt me yet."
But new research shows again that the chance it might help is much smaller than you probably realize. And if it hasn't hurt yet, just wait -- because the odds of suffering a problem are much higher than the chance of enjoying a benefit.
The long-term study of nearly 28,000 middle-aged women given either an aspirin or a placebo for 15 years finds almost no difference at all in the rate of heart attack or other heart problems.
The difference is so small that you'd have to drug 371 women to prevent just one single heart incident.
If that's all that happened -- if you could prevent a single death, or even one trip to the ER -- then it might be worth it.
But that's not all that happened.
Among those same 371 women, for example, between two and three would suffer gastrointestinal bleeding so severe that they would have to be hospitalized. And between eight and nine would suffer other bleeding problems such as ulcers and bleeding in the digestive tract.
That's about a dozen women harmed -- up to three of them seriously -- to prevent a single heart episode.
But maybe you've seen some of the other stories about daily aspirin, like the recent one that claims it can prevent colon cancer.
Well, not so fast, because those numbers are even worse.
You'd have to give 709 women daily aspirin to prevent a single case of colon cancer. Among those women, there would be five severe bleeding cases requiring hospitalization and 25 other bleeding problems such as ulcers.
This study was on women, but we've seen similar results in men, especially when it comes to "primary prevention," or preventing a first heart attack.
Aspirin simply doesn't deliver as advertised.
There are better safer ways to lower your risk of heart problems without increasing the risk of serious bleeds. Start with the basics such as fish oil and coenzyme Q10.
A holistic doctor can help figure out the best approach for you based on your history and your risks. And for complete, personal care in Southern California, make an appointment to see me at my clinic in the San Diego area.
According to, Dr. Mark Stengler
If old habits die hard, then daily aspirin is practically a vampire.
No matter how many studies prove "aspirin therapy" is all risk and little benefit, people keep at it. And when I ask them why, I often hear the same story.
"Well, there's always a small chance it might help -- and it hasn't hurt me yet."
But new research shows again that the chance it might help is much smaller than you probably realize. And if it hasn't hurt yet, just wait -- because the odds of suffering a problem are much higher than the chance of enjoying a benefit.
The long-term study of nearly 28,000 middle-aged women given either an aspirin or a placebo for 15 years finds almost no difference at all in the rate of heart attack or other heart problems.
The difference is so small that you'd have to drug 371 women to prevent just one single heart incident.
If that's all that happened -- if you could prevent a single death, or even one trip to the ER -- then it might be worth it.
But that's not all that happened.
Among those same 371 women, for example, between two and three would suffer gastrointestinal bleeding so severe that they would have to be hospitalized. And between eight and nine would suffer other bleeding problems such as ulcers and bleeding in the digestive tract.
That's about a dozen women harmed -- up to three of them seriously -- to prevent a single heart episode.
But maybe you've seen some of the other stories about daily aspirin, like the recent one that claims it can prevent colon cancer.
Well, not so fast, because those numbers are even worse.
You'd have to give 709 women daily aspirin to prevent a single case of colon cancer. Among those women, there would be five severe bleeding cases requiring hospitalization and 25 other bleeding problems such as ulcers.
This study was on women, but we've seen similar results in men, especially when it comes to "primary prevention," or preventing a first heart attack.
Aspirin simply doesn't deliver as advertised.
There are better safer ways to lower your risk of heart problems without increasing the risk of serious bleeds. Start with the basics such as fish oil and coenzyme Q10.
A holistic doctor can help figure out the best approach for you based on your history and your risks. And for complete, personal care in Southern California, make an appointment to see me at my clinic in the San Diego area.
