Many people take aspirin to
ward off strokes
|
Healthy people who take
regular aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke may be increasing
their risk of stroke.
In the last 30 years the numbers of strokes
associated with blood-thinning drugs like aspirin or warfarin
has risen seven-fold, a study found.
The risk is very high in the over 75 age group and aspirin
may do more harm than good in healthy older people, The
Lancet Neurology paper reported.
Those, people advised to take daily aspirin by
their doctor
should not stop.
Researchers at the University of Oxford compared figures
of brain haemorrhagic stroke - a type of stroke
caused by bleeding in the brain - from 1981-85 and 2002-06.
They found that many of strokes caused by high blood
pressure had fallen by 65%, which in the under 75s meant the
overall rate of strokes had reduced by fifty percent..
 |
"What our study suggests is that,
particularly in the very elderly, the risks
of aspirin outweigh the benefits
|
But in the over 75 age group the stroke rate remained the same
over the 25-year period.
A closer look at the data showed there had been an
increase in the number of strokes in patients taking blood
thinning drugs, known as anti-thrombotics.
In the first study the proportion of stroke patients on
anti-thrombotic drugs was 4% but two decades later this had
risen to 40%.
Lifestyle choice
People with cardiovascular disease, who have a high risk
of blood clot, are prescribed drugs like aspirin to thin the
blood and reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
But many healthy older people also take a regular aspirin
in an attempt to ward off a stroke.
Study leader, Professor Peter Rothwell, said the
increasing use of drugs such as aspirin may soon take over
high blood pressure as the leading cause of intracerebral
haemorrhagic stroke in the over 75s.
He warned than in healthy older adults the risks of
taking aspirin may outweigh any benefits.
"Doctors have been treating high blood pressure very
aggressively and that is bringing dividends but there are
other causes of stroke in the elderly which have become
important.
"There are good reasons for taking aspirin or warfarin
but there are elderly who take aspirin as a lifestyle choice
and in that situation the trials have shown there's no
benefit.
"And what our study suggests is that, particularly in the
very elderly, the risks of aspirin outweigh the benefits,"
he said.
Dr Peter Coleman, deputy director of research and
development for The Stroke Association said aspirin had
gained a reputation of being part of a healthy lifestyle.
"However, this evidence indicates that if you are healthy
and have a low risk of heart disease or stroke and unless
advised by your GP to take aspirin on a daily basis then the
increased risks from the side effects of aspirin are likely
to outweigh the benefits of preventing a stroke."
He advised people to lower their risk of stroke by having
regular blood pressure checks, eating a healthy diet,
stopping smoking, only drinking alcohol in moderation,
reducing salt intake and taking regular exercise.
We will further add that drinking seven glasses of water
also reduces the risk of stroke without the need of
additional medicine.
Simply taking turmeric also cause the
similar action like aspirin. So there are healthy
alternatives to aspirin or aspirin like drugs.
Coumadin or Warfarin is also named rat poison as it is
used to kill rats by making them bleed. This drug is among
the top ten most consumed drugs in the world.
