If you have never suffered a heart attack or stroke, you probably should not be taking a daily dose of aspirin to try and avoid them, according to new research out of Alberta.
A paper published in Canadian Family Physician by University of Alberta family medicine professor Michael Kolber and University of Calgary family medicine graduate Paul Fritsch examined three “large, randomized, placebo-controlled studies published in 2018.”
The studies all suggested that the risk of major internal bleeding that is posed by taking a daily dose of aspirin outweighs any preventative benefits.
“These major bleeds are not small nosebleeds or a little cut that bleeds a little further,” Kolber told Global News on Wednesday. “These are bleeds to which you go to hospital, you get admitted and/or transfused or interventions like endoscopy or surgery.”
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Kolber said some people are taking daily aspirin doses as a preventative measure but that they do not actually need it and that some people who are not taking it but do have cardiovascular disease should be taking it.
He said people who don’t have cardiovascular disease but want to avoid it should take steps like quitting smoking, exercising more often and adopting a Mediterranean diet.