Aspirin and heart health

When you think of drug withdrawal, does withdrawal from aspirin come to mind?

Probably not. Aspirin is generally regarded as so benign that most people would find it hard to imagine that you could experience withdrawal symptoms by quitting an aspirin regimen. But in a study presented at a meeting of chest physicians last month, French researchers showed that severe angina and fatal heart attacks might be prompted by the sudden halt of regular aspirin intake.

In reviewing more than 1,200 cases of coronary episodes, researchers found 51 patients who suffered heart attacks or other severe coronary problems less than one week after they stopped using aspirin. Not surprisingly, patients with a history of heart disease were at particularly high risk.

Of great concern is the fact that patients preparing for surgery are regularly advised to discontinue aspirin therapy to avoid excess bleeding during their operations. The French team told Reuters news service that doctors should not advise their coronary patients to stop using aspirin, and even stated that aspirin therapy “cannot be safely stopped in any case.”

Imagine that! You begin taking a daily aspirin to protect your heart, and once you start, you’re hooked! If you stop, you may have a 1 in 25 chance of prompting a dangerous coronary episode. That’s circular logic in my book.

Suddenly, that simple daily aspirin doesn’t seem quite so benign.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

Sources:
“Halting Aspirin Suddenly can Cause Heart Attack” Reuters, 10/29/03, reuters.com