New advice can be tough to swallow.
About 800,000 Americans will have a heart attack or stroke this year. While heart disease can affect anyone, the risk substantially rises with age.
For decades, doctors told healthy older adults to take low-dose aspirin (usually 81 milligrams) every day because aspirin acts as a blood thinner and reduces the clotting that can spur a heart attack or stroke.
Then, in 2019, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association updated their guidelines to discourage daily aspirin use among healthy adults over 70 because of bleeding concerns.
In 2022, the US Preventive Services Task Force followed suit by recommending against aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease in adults 60 and older.
Despite this guidance, a new survey found that 48% of US adults incorrectly believe that the benefits of a daily low-dose aspirin outweigh the risks in most cases.
“Habits backed by conventional wisdom and the past advice of health care providers are hard to break,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, survey director and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. “Knowing whether taking a low-dose aspirin daily is advisable or not for you is vital health information.”
Research has suggested that aspirin can increase the risk of bleeding in the brain or stomach and may not provide significant protection against stroke.
Strokes tend to occur more frequently between November and February because the holidays can be stressful and disruptive to routines.
Annenberg surveyed nearly 1,800 adults in November — the results were published this week. An astonishing 18% of US adults with no personal or family history of heart attack or stroke reported routinely taking low-dose aspirin.
Of that group, 10% said they take it “basically every day,” 2% “a few times a week” and 6% “a few times a month.”
Younger respondents were more likely to acknowledge the risks eclipse the benefits, possibly because they were unfamiliar with the longstanding guidance.
Twenty-nine percent of respondents 18 to 39 years old with no relevant medical history said the risks weren’t worth it, compared with 11% of those 40 to 59 years old and 7% of those 60 and older.
Who should take low-dose aspirin
Aspirin is still recommended for people who have had a stroke, heart attack or other heart problems to help prevent future cardiovascular events.
Low-dose aspirin may be considered for adults 40 to 59 who have a high risk of heart disease without an increased bleeding risk.
Consult your doctor before starting an aspirin regimen.
