Aspirin resistance is a myth, so taking a double dose just increases the danger

No resistance

Even the best get it wrong once in a while.

So while Dr. Oz has been on a tear lately — talking about astaxanthin, omega 7s and other great strides in natural medicine — he falls short on this one.

And this one is…aspirin.

After he sees the results of this new study, I hope Dr. Oz will modify his aspirin recommendations.

Double or nothing

Dr. Oz is probably the most prominent cheerleader for aspirin therapy. On one of his shows, he said, “If I could have just one drug in my medicine cabinet, this would be it.”

But he goes one better. (Or worse, depending on how you see it.)

Based on the idea that many people may be aspirin-resistant, Dr. Oz recommends doubling the standard dose of daily aspirin therapy. So instead of taking the baby-aspirin dose of 81 mg, he recommends 162 mg.

But this “problem” of aspirin-resistance is more like a theory. Some doctors say few people have a resistance. Others estimate that it could be as much as 40% of the population. Still others claim it’s an exaggeration promoted by drug companies that make prescription blood thinners.

A new study may settle the argument.

In an aspirin trial with 400 subjects, researchers found zero cases of aspirin resistance. This strongly suggests there’s no such thing.

The study also found that coated aspirin impedes absorption. That’s probably where the perception of resistance comes from. Of course, coated aspirin is supposed to protect the stomach from bleeding. But one of the study authors told The New York Times that there’s “little evidence” that it protects the stomach at all.

So — back to Dr. Oz. He recommends the higher dose for everyone. But this increases bleeding risk.

In an aspirin study I told you about a few weeks ago, bleeding was a huge danger. This was a 10-year study of 39,000 women. In the group that took 100 mg of aspirin per day, risk of gastrointestinal bleeding severe enough to require transfusions was 40% higher than placebo!

And the risk is dose-dependent. As the dose rises, the risk rises too. So imagine how much worse it might have been at 162 mg per day.

Here’s how one doctor describes the danger of aspirin therapy… “Regular use can trigger major stomach and brain bleeding.”

And who was that doctor?

Why, Dr. Oz himself!

The new aspirin study appears in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. So there’s a good chance Dr. Oz will see it. And I hope he does. It may not make him reverse his recommendation, but hopefully it at least gets him to cut his recommended dose in half.

Sources:
“Study Raises Questions on Coating of Aspirin” Katie Thomas, New York Times, 12/4/12, nytimes.com

“Dr. Oz: Why take low-dose aspirin every day?” Herald-Tribune, 11/22/11, health.hearldtribune.com

“Chat Transcript: Dr. Oz on Heart Health” Readers Digest, 3/22/07, rd.com