# Do you take a Baby Aspirin a day to protect your Heart? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105 "2011-12-22T19:19:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/1 "2011-12-22T19:19:18Z")
I’ve taken a baby aspirin a day to prevent blood clots and heart attacks since 2000. Never had any heart problems, but my doctor still recommended it. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/2 "2011-12-22T19:35:31Z")
WebMd says… > [@](#): > > Baby aspirin may be the best aspirin dose for heart health, according to a new research review. A single pill of baby aspirin contains 81 milligrams of aspirin. That’s about a quarter of the 325-milligram dose in an adult aspirin pill. > > The new research review states that in the U.S., the most commonly prescribed aspirin dose for heart health is 81 milligrams per day. > **[Understanding Heart Disease](https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/understanding-heart-disease-symptoms)** > > WebMD's guide to the symptoms of the various types of heart disease. Mayo Clinic > **[Should you take a daily aspirin for your heart?](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/daily-aspirin-therapy/art-20046797)** > > Daily aspirin therapy may be lifesaving for some people. Know if taking a daily low-dose aspirin is right for you. > [@](#): > > Should you take a daily aspirin? > > Whether you need daily aspirin therapy depends on your risk of heart disease and stroke. Risk factors for a heart attack or stroke include: > > ``` > Smoking tobacco > High blood pressure — a systolic pressure of 140 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher or a diastolic pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher > Total cholesterol level of 240 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) — 6.22 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) — or higher > Low-density lipoprotein ("bad") cholesterol level of 130 mg/dL (3.37 mmol/L) or higher > Lack of exercise > Diabetes > Stress > Having more than two alcoholic drinks a day for men, one drink a day for women > Family history of a stroke or heart attack > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Snowcarpet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowcarpet/32/257_2.png) [@Snowcarpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowcarpet)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/3 "2011-12-22T19:43:46Z")
Allergic to NSAIDS, so kinda kills that whole idea for me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/4 "2011-12-22T19:46:08Z")
Yep, for over 20 years now. Every doctor I have seen has agreed it is a wise idea - but rarely meet someone like me who has been doing it for so long. Way back when, I read the first research about the benefits of taking an aspirin a day and have just stuck with it. BTW, I have never had to take any other medication on a regular basis - just my daily aspirin when I get up in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/5 "2011-12-22T19:58:46Z")
Yes, I do, on my doctor’s advice. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/6 "2011-12-22T20:36:25Z")
Sure. It’s better than exercising. (Yeah, I know.) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/7 "2011-12-22T20:37:19Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Yes, I do, on my doctor’s advice. Me, too; but a full-strength one, not a baby Aspirin. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/8 "2011-12-22T20:44:48Z")
Nope. Aspirin tends to make my hemorrhoids bleed, so my doctor and I have agreed that I shouldn’t do this routine. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/9 "2011-12-22T20:49:01Z")
I also take a full 325 mg every day, on my doctor’s advice. ETA: “also” in addition to **Eve** , not “also” in addition to 81 mg. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/10 "2011-12-22T21:08:48Z")
Uh…what if you’re over 30 but under 40? But anyway, I don’t take it, yet. I exercise nearly every day, I rarely drink, and my blood pressure isn’t high, so I don’t think I’d get much out of doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/11 "2011-12-22T21:11:33Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Uh…what if you’re over 30 but under 40? This. I’m 30 and take one on a daily basis. Heart trouble runs in both sides of my family, and I’m over weight, so better safe than sorry. Even when/if I meet my weight goals, I’ll still take one on a daily basis. I wanna live as long as I can. _wanders off in search of the spring from Tuck Everlasting_ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/12 "2011-12-22T21:13:03Z")
My doctor ordered me to lose 30 lbs. (I am down 20 so far), stop eating like an insane 8-year-old, and take a daily Aspirin, as I have high cholesterol and lousy breathin’ pipes. “You’re flirting with a heart attack,” he told me. “Hell,” I replied, “I’m takin’ a heart attack out behind the gym on prom night and lettin’ it put its hand down my blouse.” ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/13 "2011-12-22T21:50:58Z")
I’m over 50 and do take regular/adult aspirin, but I’d say about half the time, not daily. Because I forget. (Memory is another thing that starts going when you’re over 50…) ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/14 "2011-12-22T22:05:35Z")
I’ve read taking a baby aspirin every other day is just as effective and if you do use aspirin therapy you cannot use other NSAIDS like Advil or Aleve, as the use of other NSAIDS will cancel out the effectiveness of the aspirin. Of course Tylenol is not an NSAID so you could use that with the baby aspirin ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/15 "2011-12-22T23:30:52Z")
I start each day with an Excedrin (more than a baby aspirin), plus a handful of other pills. And sometime in the next 9 months I’ll be getting my aortic valve replaced. The heart’s fine, but it’s having to work too hard. And yes, I have to lose weight too. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/16 "2011-12-23T00:29:25Z")
I can’t take aspirin regularly. Causes gout flares. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/17 "2011-12-23T01:26:35Z")
I discovered that taking several aspirin for a few days caused bladder bleeding. I was 45 then. I started taking half or one aspirin daily as a prophylactic and developed LLQ pain after many months. I don’t know if it was related, but it well might have been. I decided the present risk to me outweighed the long term theoretical advantages. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/18 "2011-12-23T01:52:50Z")
I’m over 50, have an artificial heart valve, and take coumadin. My cardiologist also has me taking a baby aspirin every day. If I get a headache, I am under strict orders to stick to Tylenol. So far, so good. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/19 "2011-12-23T02:00:19Z")
No… but I eat pretty well, don’t drink often, don’t smoke, and I exercise regularly. My doctor hasn’t suggested I start taking it, but I’m only 25. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105/20 "2011-12-23T02:12:22Z")
My doctor told me to do it, so I do it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-a-baby-aspirin-a-day-to-protect-your-heart/607105.md?page=2)