I’m 41, overweight (+40 lbs), am not good at keeping hydrated, have borderline cholesterol (225, but last time I got this score my bad was pretty good [relatively speaking] & my good was good, so my dr said she wasn’t worried & didn’t recommend drugs). My paternal grandfather died of a heart attack, but both my parents are still plugging away in decent health- I think my dad might be taking meds for high blood pressure.
Now this probably has something to do with my mild hypochondria about/fear of heart attacks & strokes, but I’ve been thinking that maybe it wouldn’t hurt me to start taking an 81 mg aspirin (“baby” aspirin) every day.
Probably. I figured more that it was an insignificant event and perhaps I was overthinking it. I wasn’t really looking for medical advice, but it is medicine…
In general any thing you take as a drug on a regular basis should be cleared with your doctor, that goes double if you have an illness or are taking other drugs.
It never hurts to ask your doctor, but if you are not inclined to visit , I’d say go for it, I’ve heard nothing but positive about 1 aspirin per day and several months ago my doctor suggested it to me.
Aspirin was pretty well the only over the counter anti-inflamatory drug in the 50s. My dad, for many years took 16 aspirin pills per day to deal with his arthritis for many years. He lived into his 80s.
I have considered doing the same thing. But I saw a Bayer commercial the other day, touting the heart health aspects, and Bayer wants you to talk to your doctor before starting taking it, so that’s what I’m gonna do.
The studies I’ve read show that every other day is just as effective as every day.
I’ve also read studies to indicate it helps after a problem but isn’t that great for prevention of heart attacks.
I am not overweight but I have borderline hypertension. My lower number is in the 70s and the upper number is in the 120s and my parents both had fatal heart attacks at 50 and 60.
One thing to remember is that if you take an aspirin a day, other NSAID drugs can alter its effectiveness. So you can take another dose of aspirin if you have a headache or something, don’t use other NSAIDS with an aspirin regiment. Tylenol is not an NSAID so that is OK. Ibuprofen and Aleve are NSAIDS as well as some other preseciptions.
I have been taking a full sized aspirin every day for over 20 years.
I have mentioned this to many doctors over the years and, without exception, every one of them has said it was a good idea.
There are supposedly some people who cannot do this - stomach problems and other health issues, so don’t take this a blanket “good for everybody” suggestion. The only time I have to refrain from doing so is if I am having any kind of surgery or dental work done (due to increase in bleeding).
Definitely ask your doctor. It probably couldn’t hurt, but it’s not usually a good idea to self-medicate for something like cholesterol - it’s not like it’s a passing fever.
And, for what it’s worth, I think you may have passed “borderline” with the cholesterol count. I have borderline high cholesterol and I’m right at 198. I think anything over 200 is considered high. Just my two cents, though - I’m not a doctor.
How about if you eat right and exercise daily? I mean, c’mon now…you’re talking about taking drugs to help treat symptoms you’re bringin on yourself. You’ll never see me criticize overweight people because of the way they look, but as I always do on this board, I have to smack you with a clue-by-four and point out that your weight is harming your HEALTH! That is not OK!
Take a step back from this situation and take a good look at it. You’re essentailly saying “My fat is hurting my health. What can I do about it?” The answer is obvious.
Sage advice. My cholesterol was sky high about three years ago - at 274. I lost 25 pounds and 76 points off my cholesterol. Still working to get it down further, but diet and exercise can make a huge difference. Of course, being predisposed makes things more difficult, but that just means that diet & exercise is even more important. You’re not automatically doomed to high cholesterol. Still, even if you can’t get your cholesterol down significantly, you’ll probably have lots more energy without the extra weight.
Talk to your doctor. Recent research has shown that often, the risk of regular aspirin outweighs the potential benefit for many folks. Aspirin’s risks of significance include hemorrhagic stroke and GI bleeding. Benefits may include reduction in rates of thrombotic stroke and thrombotic MI.
If one is at a relatively low risk for an MI, it’s a shame to induce a fatal GI bleed or debilitating stroke by unnecessary of aspirin.
Aspirin is a drug, it is not innocuous.
QtM, whose past cardiac history has him taking aspirin daily.
Current recommendations for aspirin use to reduce heart attacks and/or ischemic strokes, per USPSTF
The USPSTF recommends the use of aspirin for men age 45 to 79 years when the potential benefit due to a reduction in myocardial infarctions outweighs the potential harm due to an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
The USPSTF recommends the use of aspirin for women age 55 to 79 years when the potential benefit of a reduction in ischemic strokes outweighs the potential harm of an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of aspirin for cardiovascular disease prevention in men and women 80 years or older.
The USPSTF recommends against the use of aspirin for stroke prevention in women younger than 55 years and for myocardial infarction prevention in men younger than 45 years.
Thanks, all, for the insight. Yes, I need to lose weight for sure. (I actually have an appt with a therapist on Weds to discuss my issues with weight/food/exercise). I think my desire to try this regimen is based largely on fear, and not really on reality. My biggest worry is that I feel I’m chronically dehydrated and I have some ridiculous notion that maybe an aspirin regimen would “thin things out” as I try to work toward becoming more healthy. Ridiculous, I know. Feel free to pile on about that one. Like I said: not based in reality! I’m starting to feel old and out of control of the uphill battle of aging (not as easy to lose weight as it used to be, etc), plus I’ve gone through a lot of big personal changes this last year, too, which is exacerbating those fears. So basically I think I need to chill about the self-diagnosis/self-prescribing and let my doctor be in charge of that.
I have a dr appt coming up- this will be on the list to discuss.