The concept of aspirin resistance leads to dangerous measures in aspirin therapy

Double’s not nothing

If your doctor ever suggests “doubling the dosage” of a medication, hit the brakes immediately.

A significantly higher dose of virtually any drug sharply increases risk that adverse side effects will explode.

And we are seeing that that’s even true of the seemingly innocent baby aspirin, the mildest “wonder drug” ever created.

Baby steps

But what if you’re aspirin resistant?

Your doctor might buy into this idea that some people need higher doses of aspirin. If so, he’s likely to suggest you take twice the dose of baby-aspirin for heart therapy.

That’s 162 mg per day instead of the “baby” 81 mg.

Of course, if you were aspirin-resistant, you might just be resisting twice as much (at twice the price).

But this “problem” of aspirin-resistance is more like a theory.

Some say that only a few people have this resistance. Others estimate that it could be as much as 40 percent of the population.

Then there’s the third camp. They suspect that it’s an exaggeration promoted by drug companies that make prescription blood thinners. Obviously, those companies don’t want you to use a cheaper alternative.

Hmmm… That sounds the most likely.

And now, a recent study appears to settle the argument.

In an aspirin trial with 400 subjects, researchers found zero cases of aspirin resistance. Zero. Not one.

In any case, there are many doctors out there promoting the double dose. But what they’re really promoting is higher bleeding risk.

In an aspirin study I told you about before, 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 percent 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.

The new aspirin study appears in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. So there’s a good chance many doctors will see it. If yours doesn’t, ask him to look into it if he recommends a higher dose.

Sources:

“Study Raises Questions on Coating of Aspirin” Katie Thomas, New York Times, nytimes.com