Posted on 06/29/2014 11:39:00 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Is a daily aspirin regimen helpful in preventing heart attacks? In the past, conventional wisdom said yes, but a recent advisory by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says not so fast.
Call it the Bayer facts. On the label, the aspirin is called the wonder drug with lifesaving benefits. The FDA agrees aspirin is proven to help patients who've already suffered a heart attack or stroke.
"Those patients should unequivocally be on aspirin," said Doctor Kunjan Bhatt, a clinical cardiologist at Heart Hospital of Austin and Austin Heart.
When Bayer wanted to change its labeling to include the prevention of heart attacks in people without a history of heart disease, the FDA said request denied. The FDA says there's simply not enough data to support the claim for patients with no heart problems.
"That's sort of two sided," said Bruce Ladden, a heart disease patient. "What good would it do afterwards if it had no affect before?"
Ladden has taken a daily dose of aspirin since 2000. While he did require a quadruple bypass just two years ago, Ladden says it's possible aspirin as a preventive medication kept him from having a heart attack.
"Did it help -- I'm hoping so," said Ladden. "I've never felt any ill effects or side effects from the aspirin at all."
Bhatt is Ladden's cardiologist. He says the recent findings are controversial, but he understands why the FDA put forth stipulations for primary prevention patients. Bhatt says he could not recommend an aspirin regimen for young, healthy adults with no history of heart disease or stroke because aspirin is a blood thinner and could lead to gastric irritation or even bleeding ulcers.
"The most important thing I can tell you and I can tell my patients and the public is talk to your doctor," said Bhatt. "Your situation may be different than the next patient. Each situation is unique."
Who paid for the study?
But now it’s good for cancer prevention.
Madness !
.
“When Bayer wanted to change its labeling to include the prevention of heart attacks in people without a history of heart disease, the FDA said request denied. The FDA says there’s simply not enough data to support the claim for patients with no heart problems.”
As it should be.
The sponsor, Bayer in this case, is responsible for demonstrating it’s claims are true.
The FDA would not let an aspirin company claim it is good in fighting cancer either.
That’s why anyone who tells you that science is “settled” (e.g. the global warming alarmist ) are full of S.
new study shows it is good at preventing pancreatic cancer, too. if you start out early enough...
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/06/27/low-dose-aspirin-may-reduce-pancreatic-cancer-risk/
The real confusion here is that there is not just one type of heart attack. Aspirin shows lots of signs for being good to prevent *or mitigate* some types of heart attack, but that does not mean it is a universal drug.
(N.B.: The advice may still hold that if you think you are having a heart attack, you should immediately chew and swallow four aspirin with water, to mitigate damage from the attack.)
Another note about aspirin is that it was just noted that taking a small daily dose of aspirin may substantially reduce the odds of getting deadly pancreatic cancer.
On a related note, Omega-3 fish oil was recently disputed because it is not a universal drug in preventing all types of heart attack. But it was never claimed to do that, just one type, the “dead before you hit the ground” heart attack.
I remember seeing a prior study connecting high aspirin use to pancreatic cancer.
When I turned 50 I asked my doctor about the aspirin thing because that’s all we’ve heard for the past how many years now. At that time he said that it benefits were so small like 1:10,000 that he didn’t recommend it. Just saying...
You gotta be your own doctor these days and not wait for some approval from the FDA, because they’ll get around to it after you die ... :-) ...
I didn’t ask about it, but I got put on the aspirin regimen, along with blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds and nitro.
I had no precursors in my medical history to warrant it. However he did start me on Crestor about 6 years earlier even though my total collesterol was only 160. I questioned that since I always heard it had to be over 200. I even read white papers on the subject that said the same thing. So about 2 months of that and it was less than 100 then the side effects kicked in. I would get severe muscle cramps so bad I couldn’t walk a golf course and finally stopped taking them. He tried to put me on Lipitor next but I didn’t take those either and I’m still at 140!
Star...
you wrote, “I didn’t ask about it, but I got put on the...”
DON’T assume they are correct. They are not.
At the very least, go to the NNT and review the evidence from all studies. Excellent website.
“Who paid for the study?”
“Statins are Us.” Why do you ask?
The pharmacist asks him, "Do you mean aspirin?"
The man says, "Yes...I never can remember that name."
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