Study: Many older adults take aspirin daily despite known risks
New research suggests that as many as 18.5 million older adults regularly take aspirin to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease, even though the drug’s risks outweigh its benefits for many of those patients.
The study, published last week in the journal Annals of Internal
Medicine, examined self-reported data from more than 186,000 adults across the U.S. and found that nearly one-third of those age 60 or older without cardiovascular disease were using aspirin in 2021. The drug is generally not recommended for those patients, in large part because it increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.
“Some of this use is potentially harmful, because it may cause more bleeding than it offers cardiovascular protection, in these older adults especially,” said Dr. Mohak Gupta, an author of the study and a senior resident physician at Cleveland Clinic.
Aspirin works by thinning the blood, which lowers the risk of blood clots that can clog arteries and lead to a heart attack or stroke. For many years, doctors recommended taking a low dose of aspirin to prevent heart disease.
But that practice started to shift in recent years. In 2019, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology released guidance that suggested the blood thinners should not be routinely used in adults older than 70. And in 2022, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against people 60 or older without a history of cardiovascular problems using aspirin to prevent heart disease.
Certain groups of patients may still benefit from a daily aspirin, including those who have previously suffered from a heart attack, a stroke or have been diagnosed with heart disease, Gupta said. In these cases, the drug may prevent heart problems from recurring or worsening, he added.