U.S. task force reverses itself: Low-dose aspirin can do more harm than good

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Baby Aspirin Tablets

One of the most well-established and prescribed preventative medications for aging adults at risk of cardiovascular disease is likely to do more harm than good, according to an independent task force.

For decades, baby aspirin has been considered a safe and effective prophylactic for older adults. Such is the state of settled science and the finding is sure to be of interest in an era where a brand-new Covid vaccine is being forced on millions of Americans.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent organization of doctors, say doctors should stop prescribing a daily low-dose or baby aspirin to most people who are at risk for a first heart attack or stroke. They cite evidence that the side effects outweigh the benefits of this long-accepted preventive and over-the-counter medication, which is taken by millions of Americans to thwart blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.

“People ages 40 to 59 who are at higher risk for CVD and do not have a history of CVD should decide with their clinician whether to start taking aspirin.This is a C grade. People age 60 or older should not start taking aspirin for heart disease and stroke prevention. This is a D grade,” the task force reported. D grade means it is not recommended, while C grade means it depends on the patient’s situation.

The draft guidelines were announced today. The group also will be reversing its own 2016 recommendations for use of low-dose aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer. The task force said new data that has come in shows the need for more research.

Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of mortality in the United States, accounting for about one in
three deaths.

“While daily aspirin use has been shown to lower the chance of having a first heart attack or stroke, it can also cause harm. The most serious potential harm is bleeding in the stomach, intestines, and brain. The chance of bleeding increases with age and can be life-threatening,” the group wrote in its summary of its findings.

“Based on new evidence since the 2016 Task Force recommendation, it is now recommended that once people turn 60 years old, they should not consider starting to take aspirin because the risk of bleeding cancels out the benefits of preventing heart disease. The latest information also shows a closer balance of benefits and harms than previously understood for people in their 50s and that starting aspirin use as young as 40 years old may have some benefit.”

Task Force member John Wong, M.D., was quoted by the group saying, “Daily aspirin use may help prevent heart attacks and strokes in some people, but it can also cause potentially serious harms, such as internal bleeding. It’s important that people who are 40 to 59 years old and don’t have a history of heart disease have a conversation with their clinician to decide together if starting to take aspirin is right for them.”

The recommendation only applies to people who are at higher risk for CVD, have no history of CVD, and are not already taking daily aspirin. When deciding whether patients should start taking aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, clinicians should consider age, heart disease risk, and bleeding risk. It is also important to consider a patient’s values and preferences. If someone is already taking aspirin and has any questions, they should talk to their clinician about their individual circumstances, the task force said.

“The latest evidence is clear: starting a daily aspirin regimen in people who are 60 or older to prevent a first heart attack or stroke is not recommended,” says Task Force member Chien-Wen Tseng, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.E.E. “However, this Task Force recommendation is not for people already taking aspirin for a previous heart attack or stroke; they should continue to do so unless told otherwise by their clinician.”

54 COMMENTS

  1. And who paid for this “study”? Big pharma? Are they upset that aspirin is so inexpensive? ALL of the pharmaceuticals that do the same thing as aspirin in reducing risk from CVD have the same or worse side effects. I’m seriously skeptical… comment by one who has taken daily aspirin for 20 years with no ill effects.

  2. I am wondering if we follow the money on this so called research what would be found? One of the best things we could do in treating a heart attack for decades in EMS was for the patient to take an aspirin. Think it was TCP that came out as the big clot buster for heart attacks was found to be as effective as a single dose of aspirin (that was hidden in the research and came out years later). Back then TCP was something like $2,000 a dose!
    So, as a retired Paramedic, I am having a real problem with this so called “study”.

    • Yes, the final word on “medicine” should belong to a guy who lived ~2600 years ago. That being said, the motivation behind the anti-aspirin argument seems dubious.

  3. The system wants to remove all of your senses. That way you do not have the tools to interact with reality.

    Medicine so you don’t feel pain, or even your true emotions.
    Entertainment so you don’t see the beautiful nature around you.
    Masks, so you cannot smell and struggle to breathe.
    Propaganda news networks so you cannot hear the truth.
    Sodium saturated foods so you cannot taste the subtle complexity of food in its more natural state.

    The solution to all of this. Walk away from the system. Get it by your hands.

  4. I knew this was coming as a new study just released by George Washington University showed that low dose aspirin was beneficial. The study found that those taking the readily available medication had:

    47% lower death rate from COVID,
    44% reduction in the use of ventilators, and
    43% lower ICU admissions.

    • …and Bingo was his name-o!
      Most of the potential meds/therapeutics for this virus seem to be cheap and readily available. The exception is monoclonal antibodies. We really do not need a cure, we need treatment, so this becomes the “flu” it really is. You get it, you take medications for it and you get over it…life goes on.

      • That’s exactly correct. A cure for this, as a cure for other illnesses would be catastrophic to the body. Therapeutics and early treatment are the key. Obviously there are great ways to kill this virus on surfaces, but killing it inside your body introduces a whole list of problems. You want to limit its effect, keep it from binding onto cells, etc… Follow the $$ and you’ll find your answers.

    • Science does not have a mind of its own to change.
      Facts don’t change, they are facts.
      Anyone attempting to change “facts”, have one purpose. To mislead you.

      Break free.

        • Define Fact;

          -Knowledge or information based on REAL occurrences. (cannot change what actually happened)
          -Something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed. (cannot change truth)
          -A real occurrence; an event. (cannot change what has already happened)
          *
          The only “facts” that change are the ones that have been based on lies.

          You are confusing the word Propaganda, with Fact.

          • You make that up Art?? We are talking scientific facts here and they do change over time. It often involves a change in thinking.
            Something you will have a hard time with.
            Your definition of “fact” is rarely observed.

          • There it is. Art got it, mostly. However, facts are also subjugated by narrative, which means they can be intentionally altered to appear as something that they really are not. Or, they can be questioned and examined in an opposing viewpoint, not withstanding strict scrutiny by God. That’s why science now comes with political motive, not to be misconstrued as a tool that opens the door to reality. And then, there is also economic motive to be considered. An example is illustrated from Suzanne’s article. If another study is done and the results show that ordinary aspirin produces more good than harm, then the price of aspirin will go up accordingly. Or at least it should, by the manufacturer, in producing facts to drive demand.

      • I could have worded my above comment a bit clearer about “science changes its mind.” Something on the order of conclusions change when the facts change. But you get the idea, right??

          • The subject of fluctuating information hasn’t come up till you mentioned it.
            The best you can do is suggest if new facts show up, the earlier facts were in error or not complete.

          • An example here is how the earlier strain of Covid was determined to be transmissible at a certain rate that was taken as fact. While it changed a bit over time, nobody referred to it as a lie.
            Along came the Delta strain that certainly changed everyone’s thinking, and a new fact showed up but again, nobody thought it or the previous fact was a lie.
            You need some new thinking to come to grips here IMO.

    • U.S. Task force, and medical establishment, reverses decades of accepted wisdom on the benefits of low-dose aspirin.
      .
      But the Wuhan Virus vaccines (sic) are completely ‘safe and effective’!” Trust us!

      • Jefferson, excellent point, especially so since at least two independent studies recently found that Aspirin maybe instrumental in keeping Covid in check.
        Given the overwhelming evidence that their Jabs are a complete failure, we are to believe them about Aspirin?

    • The question here is, should we take the word of 16 individuals of a private research group and throw out all the acquired research and real life data collected over the decades on their say-so? Frankly this is still in the “Draft” stage and I want to see the final report, before we kick 81 mg of Aspirin a day for those with cardiovascular risks to the curb.

  5. I just found out on my last years lab work, that as I have aged, my blood is thinner. I was told to quit taking the baby aspirin. So, might want to make sure as you get older to check into that. That would affect not just wound healing, but surgery complications.

    • Sorry for the above comments. I was replying on a other post and pasted to this page by accident. Senioritis is what I’m claiming. 🙂

      • Please share with us from your vast experience how the scientific process works. I imagine you’ll say, don’t question anything and bend over and take what they say as gospel.

          • A peer review by “Bill Yankee” means finding another Communist, any Communist, to agree on any matter supported by Joe Biden, notwithstanding matters that are applicable to criminal conduct (child cuddling and other pedophilia-related actions, bribery, kick-backs and theft) or, with matters regarding the constitutional limitations of government intrusion on private citizens. Communists have no genuine arguments here, thus no peer reviewers. However, a stiff bottle of mind-altering alcohol, or a big bag of hallucinogenic pot, will do as a bonafide peer reviewer for old Yankee.

          • MH, you must be having a bad day to dream up such garbage. You need a course in how to recognize peer reviewed studies. Heheh!
            I must be hitting a nerve with a certain crowd.

      • Says the Ostrich with his head in the sand….
        Bill, the scientific method does not change (or should not), research however is ongoing. That’s what we have peer review and replicated results for. I am not throwing out what we know, until this has been out of the draft stage and vigorously peer reviewed. That you are admonishing people to get a grip or change their medication regiment (see your above comment) based solely on this report, only highlights your blind adherence to anything you perceive as “science” without a critical thought.

  6. Giving this story a little critical thought, it brings us right back to why it’s so important that we have NO health/vaccine mandates.
    .
    How in GOD’s name, can anyone say, with absolute certainty the an experimental mRNA vaccine is completely safe after 12 month of non-study:
    .
    Exert from Wikipedia:
    .
    The history of aspirin (also known as acetylsalicylic acid) begins with its synthesis and manufacture in 1899. Before that, salicylic acid had been used medicinally since antiquity. Medicines made from willow and other salicylate-rich plants appear in clay tablets from ancient Sumer as well as the Ebers Papyrus from ancient Egypt.[1][2]: 8–13  Hippocrates referred to the use of salicylic tea to reduce fevers around 400 BC, and willow bark preparations were part of the pharmacopoeia of Western medicine in classical antiquity and the Middle Ages.[1] Willow bark extract became recognized for its specific effects on fever, pain, and inflammation in the mid-eighteenth century.[3] By the nineteenth century pharmacists were experimenting with and prescribing a variety of chemicals related to salicin, the active component of willow extract.[4]: 46–55 

  7. In my life, coffee has been good, bad then good. Same for butter and eggs. In the last 25 years I have had 2 well-respect doctors who insisted that I take the baby aspirin. And drink 8 glasses of water/day. It is about time tobacco is no longer considered bad.

  8. Didn’t they kill enough elderly? That was one goal of this COVID assault. To kill the elderly. Guess too many of us survived.

  9. So, we are allowed to question the science of low dose aspirin, but not the science of covid vaccines?
    .
    Does anyone have a playbook here? I am having a hard time keeping up.

  10. This is good news actually in one way.
    The fauci cult and others will shy away from aspirin which maybe hard to find as the supply chain grinds slower and slower. Leaving the chance of finding aspirin available to those who think for themselves. Interesting that a recent study from Israel shows benefits of taking aspirin.

  11. GOD I just love our ‘blank’ country right now. Been taking 81 mg for over 15 years and now it is bad. I wish I could say what I want But will respect this forum. But will rant on others. People of Anchorage we need to retake our city some how, any ideas. Elections are corrupt and I doubt the current recall will pass either with our corrupt city clerk. So what can we do when the odds are against us to reinstall law and order and fair elections. Screw mail in ballots they lead to to the devil.

  12. Dav3, absolutely 110% correct. Nothing will change until people start making it happen. The sleeping mass needs to wake up and fight the corrupt politicians. Lived several places in Alaska and Homer is every bit a bad when it comes to government overreach issues, taxes through the roof (even for Alaska!) and started when they tried to make us a sanctuary city under the wire so to speak. Didn’t work, but there have been corrupt going ons in part of the council (making a person who lived primarily out of town to allow her on the city council in spite of evidence to the contrary.) Progressive pockets everywhere. Fight for yourselves! Alaska is watching this intently.

    • Also, I haven’t believed science “experts” since they theorized and have since stated as fact that the earth is a million years old Talk to your doctor, make your decision and thank God we still have the freedom to do that.

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