Heart Study: Low- and Regular-Dose Aspirin Prove Safe, Effective
Voice of America
An unusual study that had thousands of heart disease patients enroll themselves and track their health online as they took low- or regular-strength aspirin concluded that both doses seem equally safe and effective for preventing additional heart problems and strokes.
But there's a big caveat: People had such a strong preference for the lower dose that it's unclear if the results can establish that the treatments are truly equivalent, some independent experts said. Half who were told to take the higher dose took the lower one instead or quit using aspirin altogether. "Patients basically decided for themselves" what they wanted to take because they bought the aspirin on their own, said Dr. Salim Virani, a cardiologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who had no role in the study. Still, the results show there's little reason to take the higher dose, 325 milligrams, which many doctors assumed would work better than 81-milligram "baby aspirin," he said.Young women and their coach Dioguinho bring it in for a team huddle at the start of a football training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 16, 2024. Agatha strikes a ball during a football training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 16, 2024. Relatives watch a football training session for young women run by the Bola de Ouro social program at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 16, 2024.
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