Re: Routine Consumption of Aspirin to Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes "A Big Lie"

On Sep 30, 4:58 pm, "trigonometry1...@xxxxxxxxx |"
<trigonometry1...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sep 30, 8:43 am, PeterB <p...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



On Sep 29, 10:34 pm, "trigonometry1...@xxxxxxxxx |"

<trigonometry1...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sep 28, 9:15 am, Roman Bystrianyk <rbystria...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sep 28, 9:55 am, "D. C. Sessions" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In message <e569672d-b092-48e6-b521-36044cc37...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, PeterB wrote:

And yet (many, large) randomized, placebo-controlled studies show
lower rates of ischemic events and deaths with aspirin and other
clotting inhibitors.

Of course, none of those studies happened because aspirin can't be
patented.

You may find this of interest.  Enjoy your day.

Aspirin Risks In Healthy Individuals

http://www.healthsentinel.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&vie...

Felix Hoffman at Bayer Industries synthesized aspirin over 100 years
ago. Today there have been many ads promoting aspirin’s potential to
reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in certain people. However,
the decision to use aspirin as a preventative is not as simple as it
looks. What generally has not been analyzed are the risks and costs
associated with aspirin therapy.

In the January issue of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy the authors
analyze the lifetime cumulative risk, the potential negative effects
on quality-adjusted-life-years (QALYs), life expectancy, and cost of
aspirin therapy. The authors construct a model of healthy individuals
starting at age 50 taking a 325 mg enteric-coated daily aspirin. Based
on numerous references the authors take into account adverse effects
such as upper gastrointestinal bleeding, quality of life factor, and
aspirin cost.

Based on their analysis, aspirin therapy only had a modest negative
effect on both QALYs and life expectancy. The average lifetime cost
was determined to be $460 per person.

However, the authors found that, “for every 15 healthy 50-year-old men
started on aspirin therapy, one will have a complication in his
lifetime; for every 556 individuals started on aspirin therapy, one
will die from complications.” Comparison of death risk of lifetime
aspirin therapy (1 in 556) versus other mortality risks were listed as
follows: hip surgery (1 in 345), cardiac catheterization (1 in 500),
general anesthesia (1 in 3,685), annual accidents (1 in 3,014), food
poisoning (1 in 56,424), sky diving (1 in 70,130 per dive), and yearly
driving with a cell phone (1 in 76,900).

The authors also note that, “starting aspirin at an earlier age
resulted in a larger absolute reduction in both QALYs and life
expectancy, increased cost, and not surprisingly, a greater number of
complications.”

The authors also analyzed the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to
reduce the aspirin risk. They determined a modest increase in quality
of life and life expectancy, and a decreased risk in major and
intermediate GI (gastrointestinal) bleeds by 50%, but at a substantial
increase in cost. The addition of PPIs resulted in an increase from an
average lifetime cost of $460 per person to $18,400.

The authors do not attempt to incorporate any of the potential
benefits of aspirin. On the contrary, as the aim of the study was to
determine the risk, all complication rates attributable to aspirin
from numerous scientific sources were utilized. The authors note that,
“although good published data exist to accurately model the drawbacks
of aspirin therapy, the benefits of aspirin in cancer chemoprevention
are preliminary at best and will likely not be apparent for at least
10 years of aspirin therapy. Short-term data for the efficacy of
aspirin for the prevention of primary coronary events exist, but long-
term data are currently unavailable.”

Source: The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, January 2005

PPI meds have long term risks. Ranging from gastric atrophy,
pneumonia by way of aspirated microflora from
a microflora colonized stomach because of too little stomach
acid, neurological damage and symptoms,
dyspepsia, weaken bones, dental decay, and prostate
problems among other things.

Though the idea is low dose aspirin is so the that GI damage may not
be as bad as from a higher dosage or so it was hoped.

And there is the additional problem that aspirin may prevent
clots and related infarcts at the cost of more hemorrhage type
strokes.

Trig

Some good info I wasn't really aware of.  IMO, the only reason aspirin
can be helpful in theory is because it so closely (but less safely)
mimics salicylic acid (white willow.)  But  white willow makes no
sense as a preventive because it doesn't treat the disease *process.*

Sorry I hit the posting before the comment.

I won't call aspirin a mimic, I'd call it a closely
related drug. Both have a place in treatment
of inflammation and pain. Sometimes even
as quasi-preventative, in that I mean taking
it before an effort/job/exercise that will
likely cause some joint to flare into pain.
I do agree this isn't real prevention but
it can be a 'get along' for ailing.

Taking aspirin in someone with ongoing
and extensive CVD may on balance
buy the person some time. And since
we are mortal this intervention is for
some is about all one can ask. That
is not to some of us ask for more
and are willing to do more i.e. dietary
changes, herbal drugs i.e. loxin-5/boswellia,
white willow, gingerol, curcumin, nutrient-like
materials i.e. fish oil, taurine, msm,
high dose vitamins, etc.

Trig

I mostly agree, but based on my read of the available science,
aspirin's ability to prevent an MI is theoretical. That is true for
white willow, as well. By "mimic" I am pointing out that
acetylsalicylic acid is a synthetic analog to white willow's salicylic
acid, and less safe.




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