Although aspirin is used like an everyday item to ward off heart attacks and strokes, new research now shows that aspirin can actually cause severe internal bleeding and does not stop cardiovascular disease deaths.
Taking low doses of aspirin has been widely used to prevent additional attacks in patients who have had previous heart attacks or strokes. This remedy, called secondary prevention, has been well established and has had good results. Thus, only those with heart and circulatory diseases should continue to take aspirin as prescribed by their physician.
The real problem comes when people take aspirin as a protective measure before even having any harmful heart symptoms. These people without heart or circulatory diseases have the risk of bleeding excessively. This risk overpowers the questionable preventative benefits of taking aspirin. Experts advise normal people not to take aspirin daily and to check with their doctors. The most beneficial way of decreasing risk of developing heart diseases is to stop smoking, eat a diet high in fruit and vegetables and low in saturated fat, and exercise regularly.
