Task Force No Longer Recommends Aspirin to Prevent First Heart Attack

A “panel of experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine” no longer recommends taking a daily dose of aspirin to avoid a first heart attack or stroke in individuals 60 years of age and older, ABC News reported Tuesday.

The guidance said those 40 to 59 should only take the medication if they have a high risk of cardiovascular disease and after speaking with their doctor, the outlet continued, adding the recommendation came from the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF).

The task force’s recommendation statement said:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the US, accounting for more than 1 in 4 deaths. Each year, an estimated 605,000 people in the US have a first myocardial infarction and an estimated 610,000 experience a first stroke.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes with moderate certainty that aspirin use for the primary prevention of CVD events in adults aged 40 to 59 years who have a 10% or greater 10-year CVD risk has a small net benefit.

The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that initiating aspirin use for the primary prevention of CVD events in adults 60 years or older has no net benefit.

“If you’ve had a heart attack or stroke, there’s no doubt that taking low-dose aspirin in beneficial,” said Erin Michos, M.D., M.H.S., of the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“But if you don’t have heart disease, should you take it just in case? The answer for most individuals is probably not,” she added.

Aspirin was shown to lower one’s chances of suffering a first heart attack or stroke, but could increase a person’s chances for bleeding in the brain, stomach, and intestines. Even though the risk of bleeding was low, it increased with age.

“It is important for the public to understand that for the vast majority of Americans without pre-existing heart disease, aspirin does not provide a net benefit. The harms are approximately equal to any benefits. The USPSTF is just catching up with this widely accepted scientific viewpoint,” Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist with the Cleveland Clinic, said.

The updated guidance did not change for those who have already suffered a heart attack, stroke, or major cardiovascular problem: “The recommendation for using aspirin to protect them from a second event remains strong,” the ABC report concluded.