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Sign Up. Close Thanks for visiting. The Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness , is yours absolutely FREE when you sign up to receive Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle, with ways to fight inflammation and improve cognitive health , plus the latest advances in preventative medicine, diet and exercise , pain relief, blood pressure and cholesterol management, and more. Aspirin can help prevent heart attacks by making it more difficult for platelets in the blood to form clots.
Smoking and certain medical conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes , can cause plaques to form in the coronary arteries. Plaques are buildups of cholesterol, white blood cells, and other substances. Together, they form a waxy deposit that can collect in the walls of the arteries. If parts of these plaques break off, they too can form blood clots. These can block arteries and reduce the blood flow to the heart, causing a heart attack.
Aspirin can help reduce the severity of a heart attack. However, as the American Heart Association note, aspirin alone cannot treat a heart attack. Before taking an aspirin for a suspected heart attack, contact or the local emergency number. The operator can advise whether to take aspirin and how much to take. Learn more about what to do during a heart attack. A person can take — milligrams mg of aspirin during a heart attack. Uncoated aspirin is preferable, as it works faster, but a person can also chew an enteric-coated tablet if uncoated ones are unavailable.
However, the same study cautions against the widespread use of aspirin for this purpose. Also, a study concluded that the potential benefits of aspirin are not the same for everyone. For example, the researchers found that regular aspirin use only reduced the chances of a first heart attack for some people who had an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. So, while aspirin can help prevent a first heart attack for some people, this benefit may not be widespread.
If a healthcare professional prescribes aspirin as a preventive measure, they recommend 75— mg per day. However, it is important to speak with a healthcare professional before taking this dosage. If a person forgets a dose, they should take it as soon as they remember. But if it is nearly time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue with the regular schedule. Anyone concerned that they may have taken too much aspirin should immediately call Poison Control , at , or use its online resource.
An expert will provide care instructions. For example, the National Cancer Institute notes that aspirin may have cancer-preventing properties, particularly for colorectal cancer. People with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and people aged 50—59 may benefit most from taking aspirin for this purpose. However, the institute warns, for people aged 70 and above, a daily low dosage of aspirin may increase the likelihood of developing and dying from an advanced form of cancer.
American Heart Association. Zheng SL, et al. Association of aspirin use for primary prevention with cardiovascular events and bleeding events: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Abdelaziz HK, et al. Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Aspirin for reducing your risk of heart attack and stroke: Know the facts. Food and Drug Administration. Aspirin: Questions and answers.
Department of Health and Human Services and U. Department of Agriculture. IBM Micromedex. Lopez-Jimenez F expert opinion. Mayo Clinic. Aspirin use to prevent cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer: Preventive medication. Kopecky SL expert opinion.
Spencer FA, et al. Aspirin in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Solomon DH. Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease adult. Mayo Clinic; Low-dose aspirin discontinuation and risk of cardiovascular events. Saito Y, et al. Low-dose aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Arnett DK, et al. American College of Cardiology. Antiplatelet therapy for coronary stents adult.
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