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It’s hard to keep up with the latest advice on aspirin. Known for its powerful blood-thinning properties, it is routinely prescribed in low doses to people who have had a heart attack or stroke to protect them from having another.
This has prompted some to argue that it could have a preventive effect in people who have no history of heart problems too. In the US, an estimated 40 million adults now take aspirin every day.
But last year, the US Food and Drug Administration warned against this practice, saying to help prevent heart disease, even those with a family history.
The key concern is a small but unquestionable risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and haemorrhagic stroke, caused by bleeding in the brain.
A study published in January found that out of 68,000 people in the US who had been prescribed aspirin for primary prevention – meaning they had a history of heart disease – one in 10 were inappropriately given the drug because their chances of heart attack or stroke were .
Now the humble painkiller is attracting attention for a different reason – its apparently remarkable effects on cancer prevention. Last year, a review of the evidence led by at Queen Mary University of London found that more than in the UK alone if all people aged 50 to 64 took a low-dose aspirin every day. Cuzick found that aspirin use led to a 30 per cent reduction in both…
