Experts Change Advice for Preventing Heart Attacks with Aspirin

A group of health experts says older adults without heart disease should not take aspirin¹ to prevent a heart attack or stroke.

The group says the risk of bleeding inside the body for people 60 years of age and older is greater than the protection from heart disease.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released an early version of the new guidance recently. It is a government-appointed group of health experts on disease prevention.

In addition to advice for older adults, the group for the first time said there may be a small benefit for adults in their 40s who have no bleeding risks. The experts also said there is less clear evidence of a benefit for those in their 50s.

The group's guidelines² are meant for people who are at higher risk of heart disease. This includes people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol³, those who are highly overweight or who have conditions that increase their chances for a heart attack or stroke.

Anyone considering whether to start or stop the aspirin treatment should talk with a doctor first, the group also advised.

"Aspirin use can cause serious harms, and risk increases with age," said John Wong, a group member and doctor at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Experts to make final decision

In 2016, the prevention experts had advised that a small amount of aspirin each day could help prevent a first heart attack or stroke. The new advice is in agreement with more recent guidelines from other medical groups.

Doctors have long advised small amounts of aspirin every day for many patients who already have had a heart attack or stroke. The groups guidance does not change that.

The new guidance was announced online to let the public comment on it until November 8. The group will study the comments and then make a final decision.

Wong said the guidelines are being updated because of new studies and reexamination of older research.

Possible side effects

Aspirin is best known as a medicine to reduce pain. But it also thins blood. This can reduce the chances for blood clots⁵. But aspirin also has risks, even in small amounts. These include bleeding in the stomach or intestines⁶ and ulcers⁸. Both conditions can be dangerous.

Dr. Lauren Block is a researcher at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York. She said the guidance is important because so many adults take aspirin although they have never had a heart attack or stroke.

Block is not on the task force. However, she recently stopped treating a patient with aspirin because of the possible bad effects. She instead began treating the patient with a cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin.

The patient is 70-year-old Richard Schrafel. He has high blood pressure and knows about his heart attack risks. Schrafel said he never had bad effects from aspirin. But he takes the new guidance seriously.

Sixty-three-year-old Rita Seefeldt also has high blood pressure. She took aspirin every day for about 10 years until her doctor told her to stop two years ago.

"He said they changed their minds on that," remembered the retired⁹ elementary school teacher from Milwaukee. She said she understands that science develops over time.

Words in This Story

stroke –n. a serious sickness caused when a blood vessel¹⁰ in your brain suddenly breaks or is blocked

benefit –n. a good or helpful result or effect

cholesterol –n. a substance found in the bodies of people and animals

blood clot⁴ –n. a mass of dried blood that sops¹¹ the flow of blood in the body and that can cause serious health problems

ulcer⁷ –n. a painful area inside or outside the body

1 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

2 guidelines   

n.指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• The government has drawn up guidelines on the treatment of the mentally ill. 政府制订了对待精神病人的指导方针。
• Planners seem a little uncomfortable with the current government guidelines. 规划师似乎不太接受现行的政府指道方针。

3 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

4 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

5 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

7 ulcer   

n.溃疡，腐坏物

参考例句：

• She had an ulcer in her mouth.她口腔出现溃疡。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

8 ulcers   

n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败

参考例句：

• Detachment of the dead cells produces erosions and ulcers. 死亡细胞的脱落，产生糜烂和溃疡。 来自辞典例句
• 75% of postbulbar ulcers occur proximal to the duodenal papilla. 75％的球后溃疡发生在十二指肠乳头近侧。 来自辞典例句

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

11 sops   

n.用以慰藉或讨好某人的事物( sop的名词复数 )；泡湿的面包片等v.将（面包等）在液体中蘸或浸泡( sop的第三人称单数 )；用海绵、布等吸起（液体等）

参考例句：

• The government parties may be tempted to throw a few sops to the right-wingers. 执政党也许想对右翼人士施以小恩小惠。 来自辞典例句
• Those are all sops along the way. 这些是人生道路上的歧途。 来自辞典例句