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Aspirin 'only for heart patients'

(BBC 03/11/2009)

The use of aspirin to ward off heart attacks and strokes in those who do not have obvious cardiovascular disease should be abandoned, researchers say. The Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) study says aspirin can cause serious internal bleeding and does not prevent cardiovascular disease deaths. It says doctors should review all patients currently taking the drug for prevention of heart disease. The Royal College of GPs says it supports the DTB's recommendations. Low-dose aspirin is widely used to prevent further episodes of cardiovascular disease in people who have already had problems such as a heart attack or stroke. This approach - known as secondary prevention - is well-established and has confirmed benefits.

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Warning for healthy aspirin users

(BBC 31/08/2009)

Healthy people who take aspirin to prevent heart attacks could be doing more harm than good, experts said.

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Routine aspirin benefits queried

(BBC 29/05/2009)

Low-dose aspirin should not routinely be used to prevent heart attacks and strokes, contrary to official guidance, say UK researchers. Analysis of date from over 100,000 clinical trial participants found the risk of harm largely cancelled out the benefits of taking the drug. Only those who have already had a heart attack or stroke should be advised to take a daily aspirin, they found. The study should help clarify a "confusing" issue, a leading GP said.

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Over-40s may benefit from aspirin

(BBC 29/04/2009)

Taking aspirin in your 40s could cut the risk of cancer later in life, a review of research suggests. Experts said taking the drug at an age before cancer usually develops, and for ten years would maximise its potential to prevent the disease. Aspirin has been linked to a reduced risk of some cancers, and heart disease, but also to a raised risk of ulcers and internal bleeding [more research required].

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Aspirin Use Linked to Brain Microbleeds

(World health - EU Monitor 13/04/2009)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of 1,062 people found a 70 percent higher incidence of "microbleeds" among those taking aspirin or carbasalate calcium, a close chemical relative of aspirin, than among those not taking such anti-clotting drugs, according to an April 13 online report in the Archives of Neurology from physicians at Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam. The research was expected to be published in the June print issue of the journal.

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Diabetes aspirin use questioned

(BBC 17/10/2008)

The British Medical Journal reported that in 1,300 adults with no symptoms of heart disease taking aspirin, which can cause stomach bleeds, had no benefit. The findings contradict many guidelines which advocate people with diabetes use aspirin to counter the underlying high risk of heart attack and stroke. But there are key high-risk groups who still need the drug, experts said.

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Prescription cost passes '£1bn mark

(The Scotsman 01/10/2008)

THE net cost of NHS prescriptions in Scotland passed £1 billion last year for the first time, figures revealed yesterday. The total was £1,066,950,000- less prescription charges of some £49.5 million. Nearly 82 million prescriptions were dispensed last year, and the average cost was £12.41. The most commonly prescribed drug in Scotland is aspirin.

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Daily aspirin in middle-age call

(BBC 24/08/2008)

Most men over 48 and women over 57 should take a daily aspirin pill to reduce the risk of heart attacks, UK researchers say.

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