US medical experts recommend people aging 50 to 59 years old who are prone to heart attacks and stroke should take low- doses of aspirin daily.
In a report by reuters.com, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF said that people on this age bracket taking low- doses of aspirin daily can help prevent the increase in chances of heart attacks and strokes as well as colon cancer. The group's newest proposal is more specific than their previous recommendations that separated guidelines according to sex. The group also recommends taking low- dose of aspirin daily to the people outside 50 to 59 years old. The changes in their proposal is due to the inclusion of the risks of colon cancer as well as the results of four clinical tests of aspirin since 2009.
Dr. Doug Owens, a member of the panel, said that "The people we recommend taking aspirin are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and who are not at an increased risk of bleeding complications."
Though the use of aspirin in preventing heart attack and strokes was rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration last year, USPSTF studied the larger benefits of aspirin and its evidences to back their proposal.
According to yahoo.com, the new proposal is intended for people who are expected to live at least 10 years and those who have a 10% higher chance of heart attack and stroke. The calculation of the risk is based on American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology calculator which gets its results from a person's cholesterol level and blood pressure.
Though aspirin can bring health benefits to 50 to 59 years olds, the same cannot be said for people aging 60 to 69 and taking aspirin for prevention should be on a case to case basis. Also, the group has no concrete information to validate that people younger than 50 or aged 70 and higher can benefit from daily low- dose of aspirin.
