Aspirin is a multipurpose drug that can be used to overcome several health problems, including relieving pain and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Although aspirin has some benefit for our health, not all of us are encouraged to take the medicine regularly every day. This drug is only recommended for those who have a history of heart attack or stroke.

For those who have no history of heart disease or stroke, daily use of aspirin can increases the risk of internal bleeding in internal organs, which is serious. Therefore, aspirin is not recommended to be consumed freely for those who are healthy. Unfortunately, there are still many people, especially adults and elderly people, who use aspirin every day with the aim of maintaining their heart health.

According to the results of a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers found that half of Americans use aspirin every day even though they have no history of heart disease. The researchers also found that 6.6 million American adults took the drug without a recommendation from their doctor. Thiscan increase the risk of other diseases.

In their study, the researchers analysed health data recorded in the 2017 National Health Interview Survey. The researchers assessed each participant's response to questions about aspirin use, such as whether their doctors had recommended taking low doses of aspirin, had they follow these recommendations, or do they use aspirin on personal initiative to prevent heart disease.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Google Search Images

Source(s):

• O’Brien, C.W., Juraschek, S.P., and Wee, C.C., (2019). Prevalence of Aspirin Use for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in the United States: Results From the 2017 National Health Interview Survey. Annals of Internal Medicine, DOI: 10.7326 / M19-0953.
• Healthline - Doctors Warn Daily Aspirin Use Can Be Dangerous (2019). https://www.healthline.com/health-news/you-can-skip-your-daily-aspirin-regimen, 25 July 2019.