I often heard and read about the
health benefits of aspirin. A study
summarizing nine randomized placebo-controlled trials with at least 1000
participants each evaluated the role of aspirinr on cardiovascular disease
(CVD), nonvascular outcomes, or death.
The study, which involved over 100,
000 participants, showed that aspirin reduced total CVD events by 10%, driven
primarily by reduction in nonfatal MI (heart attack). There was no significant
reduction in CVD death or cancer death.
There was increased risk of nontrivial bleeding events
The study concluded that for most of
us who are healthy and do not have heart diseases, aspirin prophylaxis may not
help reducing death from CVD or cancer and may increase bleeding
complications. As most of things in
medicine which hardly black or white, you should discuss risks and benefits
with your doctors.
Reference:
Seshasai SR, Wijesuriya S,
Sivakumaran R, Nethercott S, Erqou S, Sattar N, Ray KK. Effect of aspirin on vascular and nonvascular
outcomes: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med.
2012;172(3):209.
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