Potentially harmful heart advice is making the rounds in a multi-forwarded e-mail

I get this stuff all the time. I’m sure you do too.

Today I received one of those “helpful” e-mails, forwarded many times.

This one actually starts off with details that seem authentic. You’ve got Dr. Virend Somers, a Mayo Clinic Cardiologist. He’s the author of a 7/29/08 report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The e-mail states that Dr. Somers recommends taking your daily aspirin at night. This will help prevent an early morning heart attack. And according to this e-mail, most heart attacks occur between 6:00 AM and noon.

Hmmm… That struck me as a little fishy.

Sure enough, a Google search produced a Mayo Clinic disclaimer. Apparently, there really is a Dr. Virend. And he is a cardiologist at the clinic. And he did publish a report on sleep apnea.

But his article didn’t recommend aspirin as a heart attack preventive.

More importantly, the Mayo disclaimer notes that the e-mail contains information that’s “inaccurate and potentially harmful.” But that’s it. No details.

Come on, Mayo! Don’t hold out! Fill us in!

Instead, the Mayo note suggests we discuss these issues with a doctor.

Good idea.

So I ran it by Dr. Spreen. His response… “Aspirin, baby or otherwise, is complete junk for prevention. It’s all an absolute con to sell drugs.”

There you have it. Straight from a doctor.

ALWAYS be suspicious of multi-forwarded e-mails. They usually come from friends who mean well. But too often, they’re at least partly fiction.

Source:
“Misleading Aspirin Email” Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic, 2/28/10, newsblog.mayoclinic.org