I am debating on taking the aspirin a day often recommended for heart attack prevention. My logic tells me to carry aspirin with me and if I notice any slight symptoms or even suspect symptoms to take one, but not to take one everyday as it may mask symptoms until they advance to a point where an aspirin may no longer be useful. What are the more common accepted logic’s on this issue?
My doctor prescribed 1-81 milligram (Baby aspirin) daily. He told me it was probably the most important pill I’ll ever take. This was just after I had a coronary bi-pass.
That’s just for me, but I think many, many other people are taking aspirin for prevention.
It’s not something to take when a heart attack is ongoing - that wouldn’t be prevention. You’re supposed to take it every day, without waiting for any kind of symptoms of heart attack.
Think of what you’re proposing as of “putting a condom on after you’ve come”.
There are risks, so the advice to take some dosage of aspirin daily does not apply to everyone. Your past history is going to weigh most heavily in deciding whether to take an aspirin or not, but you should leave that decision up to your cardiologist or primary physician.
ETA: I should have read the OP more carefully. What Nava said. I’ve never heard that taking an aspirin everyday “may mask symptoms until they advance to a point where an aspirin may no longer be useful.” I’m not even sure what that means. Aspirin can help reduce heart attacks whether or not they mask symptoms and I’ve never heard that they do.
The newest evidence shows that for primary prevention (i.e. in someone with no known vascular disease or past heart-attack), the cost outweighs the benefit. Aspirin has a small stomach-bleed risk associated with it, and in someone without known disease, that risk actually outweighs the risk of heart attack.
81mg of aspirin won’t “mask” any pain–it’s far below the analgesic dose of aspirin in an adult. Instead, it helps prevent the blockage of arteries by platelets. It does this by sticking to them permanently (until the platelet dies, that is) and making them “slippery” so that they won’t bind together as easily into a clot. Because it’s a permanent effect, even 81mg has a big impact, because over a few weeks of taking it, you end up with thoroughly coated platelets; bigger doses as prevention don’t have any advantage. But even if you’re taking the 81mg, we still give people a bigger (325mg) dose if they present with what sounds like a heart attack, because it can help prevent further growth of the clot that causes the damage to the heart.
You need to talk to your doctor, preferably your cardiologist about whether this is correct for you. It differs from patient to patient.
IIRC, there is also evidence that chewing a 325 mg aspirin during onset of a heart attack may result in better outcomes. This is different from the daily aspirin recommendations.
Yes, we routinely give aspirin to pts we suspect are having an MI to minimize the event. Having said that, it’s not a risk free intervention and you really should weigh the pros and cons individually with your doc.
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Aspirin is frequently administered to people having a heart attack.
Again, it’s two different purposes though- the Aspirin being given to someone with an MI or a CVA is the 325mg tablet, and the pt is instructed to chew it. Consider it a “therapeutic dose” if you will.
The daily usage of aspirin used basically to thin the blood and reduce the risks of a CVA or MI is the 81mg daily dose. That’s one of the standards of care for secondary stroke prevention- anyone at risk for a 2nd stroke, it is recommended to put them on ASA and a Statin (Lipitor, prevastatin, etc) regardless of cholesterol levels. These medications are given because of the chance to reduce the risk of a 2nd stroke. It’s a small reduction, but it does reduce the annual risk of a 2nd event in those taking these medications vs. those who do not take it.
I’m over 40, my heart is fine but I do smoke and my father had a number of small strokes in latter years, so I take 1 of the small aspirin each morning as part of my routine.
One annoying side effect is that if I scratch myself it bleeds a lot more and takes longer to stop than it used to, so I guess that means it’s doing it’s job.