Aspirin use in MI patients

"There is a marked underutilization of aspirin in older patients with documented Q-wave myocardial infarction at the time of admission to a nursing home," concludes Wilbert Aronow, MD, Hebrew Hospital Home, Bronx, N.Y. in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. Only 60 of 350 MI patients (17%) were receiving aspirin at the time they were admitted, the researcher notes. Subjects were patients 60 and older with documented MI and no contraindications to aspirin use at the time study; 231 women and 119 men were examined. Pointing to the benefits of aspirin administration (reduced risk of recurrent MI, stroke, vascular death, reduced cardiac mortality), the researcher notes the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines advise use of 160-325 mg aspirin upon experiencing acute MI and indefinitely thereafter unless specifically contraindicated...