Risks in aspirin as CV prevention

Patients and physicians should consider factors including age, gender, diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking and risk of gastrointestinal bleeding before deciding to use aspirin to prevent heart attacks or strokes, an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality panel recommends. In a March 17 Annals of Internal Medicine study, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found the more risk factors people have, the more likely they are to benefit from aspirin. The panel reviewed evidence from the National Institutes of Health's Women's Health Study published since its previous review of the topic in 2002. The task force recommends when the benefits outweigh the potential for GI bleeding, men between the ages of 45 and 79 should use aspirin to reduce their risk for heart attacks and women between the ages of 55 and 79 should use aspirin to reduce their risk for ischemic stroke