Does Anyone Take Baby Aspirin Daily for Prevention?

Go meet with a cardiologist and get that doctor's opinion. Find one that you can use long term for well-checks.

It's good for some and not for others. My husband takes one now after having a stent put in last May. Not before that. You need to get good information on whether or not it's good for you, and not just take it.

I take a daily baby aspirin regimen. I have antiphospholipid syndrome. I had multiple miscarriages and developed a uterine clot while pregnant with my daughter. I am more prone to strokes because of it and already have a maternal family history of strokes.

An aspirin regimen is nothing to take lightly. Do not start it unless you have a doctor recommending it. I am working with a cardiologist who specializes in prevention. I can highly recommend going that route because you want to be proactive not reactive when dealing with heart/blood issues.

Please see a cardiologist or work with your primary care to see if you need a specialist.

Good for you in paying attention to your health.

J.,

You REALLY need to see a cardiologist and a PCP for the right answer for this. EVERY BODY is different. You have genetic predisposition to heart disease. you MUST talk with your doctor before you take ANY medications - EVEN OTC MEDS.

GO TO YOUR DOCTOR!!!

Here's what the FDA has to say about it:
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm390...

I do not. Everyone is different and what is good for one person may not be good for the other. You should talk to your Dr. and if you know you have some sort of heart issue or could have something genetic, you should be seeing as cardiologist as well.

After you have a complete workup with your Dr.'s to determine if you have any heart issues at all... THEN you can make the decision of what you need to supplement or not if needed.

I would follow my Dr. advice, not the advice we regularly see advertised on TV.

This is going to be one of those medical issues that you and your doctor(s) decide is best. You have to know what your health what the benefits are for your well being. If there is heart disease in your family it might be a good prevention for you but that decision is with your medical provider.

My doctor an oncologist has me on a low dose aspirin as well as some other vitamins.

We can give you ideas but we cannot prescribe any medical advice as we are not licensed. We are just moms and not MDs with all the training.

the other S.

My paternal grandmother had heart issues.
My father had open heart surgery when I was a senior in high school.
He had a TIA right in front of me 5 years later. Then suffered multiple TIA's. Where the discovers he had basilar artery thrombosis ( brain stem was 90% clogged).
He has also had 2 more open heart surgeries, and then a defibrillator? (not a pacemaker) put in.
For more then have my life I watched him struggle with heart disease related issues. Knowledge and prevention are always the best medicine, and up until the last year I was pretty hyper vigilant about preventing heart disease in myself.
My PCP listened to me so carefully and calmed me by letting me know how much updated information there is about heart disease now. He really calmed me, and gave me better tools (no medicine) to help me stay healthy.

I encourage you to find a good PCP that is in network for most insurances, and allow him/her to educate you so that you make informed decisions about your disease prevention. Speak with a cardiologist.If your insurance changes, perhaps they will adjust fees, or refer you to a partner. Back in the day the PCP and the group practice/office/medical center had different provider ID's so they could bill under whichever ID was in network. Don't know if that is still done.

I have never taken an aspirin regiment, nor has a physician ever recommended it to me.

Heart disease is a complex issue, related to blood flow, cholesterol, heart muscle thickness, pumping capacity (called ejection fraction), and other aspects of an involved cardiovascular system.

I love Suz T.'s comments. Aspirin is given as an anticoagulant - it's a low dose and so it doesn't pack the punch of, say, Coumadin or Xarelto. So you could argue that it has fewer side effects but is also less effective. Aspirin has long been known to cause other problems unrelated to the heart. And it does nothing to prevent cholesterol. But like Suz says, the statin drugs (Lipitor, etc.) have caused massive side effects too - in part because they eliminate the cholesterol that the brain needs while reducing what causes plaque build-up in the blood vessels.

I don't take it. They used to advise it, but now they are seeing the down side, and since I do other things risk-free to reduce my cholesterol, I don't need to take drugs to do so. My husband is taking it very short term - he had some unexplained cardiac symptoms and didn't fit the profile for a heart patient - in part because he does the same things I do. After much fantastic diagnostic work by a team of cardiologist and endocrinologist, he was found to have a rare endocrine tumor (non-cancerous) which was recently removed via surgery. It was kicking out constant levels of stress hormones, probably over a period of years, and all of that had an effect on his heart. So he is tapering off the drugs given while his heart heals - but for now, he's staying on the aspirin. But that's based on intensive cardiac evaluation and not just because of something vague about a family history and a concern about inflammation.

We use more natural means to reduce inflammation - which, I agree, is linked to many diseases. That's why we do it, and I work with major food scientists who have teamed up with cardiologists and cancer specialists and others, based on the studies that have been run at numerous hospitals. That is to say, the decisions are based on clinical data. It's important that you realize that significant inflammation is not going to be helped by a low dose, 81 mg aspirin, or even 2. And the aspirin can make other problems worse. So I suggest you go to an excellent cardiac center with a good list of who in the family had what type of heart conditions as well as other medical conditions, and get a full work-up. Don't just go grab a bottle of aspirin and assume you are protected or that you aren't causing other damage.

I'd only do so under doctor's orders. My dad's uncle died from complication of taking aspirin (back when they first suggested taking it) because of intestinal bleeding. By the time he went to the doctors after toughing out stomach pain for a while he had a massive infection, became septic, and passed away.

Even taken in low dosages can cause side effects so your best bet is to consult with a physician to see what's right for you.

i think this is a really good question. and it's one that is confusing for many of us right now.
my husband does this on the advice of his doctor. but that's the same doctor i fired because he also told me that lipitor and tylenol have zero side effects. oops. turned out he was wrong. so sorry.
my husband hasn't ever had any heart issues in his past, so the new research all indicates he should NOT be taking baby aspirin. but his stupid doctor says to, and my husband (sensibly, i guess) listens to his doctor, not his wife who does, true tell, have some wacky ideas and is not, in fact, a medical professional.
but there is a lot of new research on this subject and a lot of it is contradictory.
in your case all i can suggest is to go to a cardiologist and discuss your situation and family history with her and take that advice over that of a GP.
khairete
S.

This is a more complicated question than you might think. This is a conversation you have with a doctor who knows your history well. In some people, it is a good thing. But it also increases risk of bleeding and ulcers. So if you have other risk factors for either of these (eg, if your a smoker), then it might cause more harm than good. It is my understanding that it is typically only recommended for people who have a personal history of heart attack (not someone else in their family, but that person has already had a heart attack).

I take small dose aspirin because my doctor said I should. He also said that not everyone would benefit from taking it. His recommendation was based on my medical history. I have irregular heart rhythms from time to time. That may be why.

Baby aspirin is not the cure all that you describe. Taking it may help prevent heart issues related to blood clots. It's too small of a dose to prevent inflamation. I've never heard of small doses of aspirin being an anti-inflammatory.

Reading answers to your question is the first I've heard of negative side affects. I'm going to ask my doctor about them.

I take Tocotrienol 50 mg daily. It is a form of Vitamin E, which prevents blood clots like aspirin. Aspirin has been found to cause bleeding in the small vessels of the brain. Do research what I have said and find out for yourself.

I just read the other day that current research is showing that it only helps for those who have already starting having heart problems. it doesn't prevent, it just helps after the heart attack.