And the Aspirin

According to recent Dutch research taking aspirin is not worth the risk for healthy middle-aged women trying to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Indeed, very few women would benefit and regular aspirin can cause irritation of the stomach, bowel and cause heart burn and nausea. Most doctors agree that taking aspirin if you have already suffered a heart attack is worth it but this recent study published in the European Heart Journal and based on 28000 women further adds to the recent controversy. Two large review papers this year also found little effect on outcomes using aspirin as a preventative measure in healthy adults.  There’s better ways to prevent many chronic diseases- taking drugs when healthy may not be one of them.

Kevin, 9 December 2011.