Hi Hensylee,
There was an article that strongly suggested that those on 325 cut back to the 81 mg aspirin.
I have always been on the 325 mg dose, and I asked my doctor about the article. He recommended that for my condition I stay on the 325 dose. so, I am still taking the 325's.
Here is a part of that report.
SAFER DOSE DETERMINED
The most crucial advance offered by the study is in defining the appropriate dose of aspirin for long-term therapy, said Dr. Eric Topol, cardiology chief at the Cleveland Clinic who was not involved in the analysis.
?That?s a big thing. Before this analysis we weren?t sure what the dose was at all,? Topol said. ?325
milligrams was readily available, so it was used out of convenience, but now I think we?ve zeroed in in the range of 80 to 160.?
Most doctors and heart specialists prescribe 325 milligrams of aspirin ? the same as a regular strength adult aspirin tablet ? per day when applying it as a blood thinner.
The latest analysis shows that between 75 milligrams and 150 milligrams works just as well, with less chance of internal bleeding. In the United States, a baby aspirin tablet, also available as low-dose adult aspirin, contains 81 Milligrams.
?There are two problems,? Topol concluded ?Doctors are giving too much or they are not giving any at all. We have a lot of work to do now to get all the patients treated and at the right dose.
?That dose should be considered to be one or two baby aspirin and not the standard 325 milligrams,? he said.
A similar analysis performed in 1994 by the same group solidified the role of long-term daily aspirin treatment in avoiding second heart attacks or strokes in people who have already had one.
The latest review, published in the British Medical Journal, is a much-anticipated update.
?We?ve got clear evidence now from this review that people who haven?t yet had a heart attack or stroke do benefit, but they are being treated less than half the time with aspirin,? said Baigent, also an epidemiologist at Oxford.
?If we were to tackle that group, that would save about 40,000 extra lives a year worldwide,? he said.
UNDERUSED REMEDY
?Aspirin is not an appropriate treatment for everyone but it is important that all those who might benefit are actually offered it,? said Sir Charles George, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which helped fund the research.
Baigent attributed the under-use of aspirin, one of the world?s most popular drugs, to a lack of clear guidelines. But he added that aspirin was only suitable for people who were at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke because of a medical condition.
The study concluded that most healthy people, who have less than a 1 percent chance of having a heart attack or stroke, should not regularly take aspirin to prevent heart trouble.
The key is to determine how unhealthy someone has to be to benefit from aspirin, Baigent said. If the likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke is smaller than the chance of internal bleeding from the aspirin, the drug would cause more harm than good. People should always consult a doctor before taking the drug regularly, he added.
Hope this helps,
Bob
