Aspirin is confirmed as key protection against heart disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

New study demonstrates the effectiveness of aspirin in preventing heart disease.
The use of aspirin in preventing heart disease is well known. However, it does not work for everyone. Researchers at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, a member of the LifeBridge Health group, report on the largest study to date of aspirin effectiveness.

They had a group of 120 patients with a history of heart disease take 81 mg, 162 mg and 325 mg aspirin every day for four weeks, for a total of 12 weeks. The response to aspirin was tested by multiple methods. This showed that aspirin is generally highly effective at blocking its target, which is the cyclo-oxygenase I enzyme (COX-1). Usually, COX-1 plays a role in blood clotting by triggering platelet activation.

The research also shows that aspirin might block platelet activation by pathways other than COX-1 inhibition. However, five per cent of patients are resistant to aspirin and other ways of preventing heart attacks must be found for them.

Source
LifeBridge Health 21st September 2006