A recent study has shed light on aspirin and its role in reducing the risk of heart attack. The study presented at the ESC Congress 2023 ( European Society of Cardiology) has found that not taking aspirin after a heart attack, as suggested by cardiologists, leads to a higher risk of having another heart attack, stroke, and even death.
The study
The participants of the study were all aged above 40. They had a history of first-time heart attacks in the period between 2004-2017. They had all been treated with a coronary stent and took aspirin in the first year after their heart attack. Participants were assessed in terms of their adherence to aspirin at four-time points-two, four, six, and eight years after the heart attack. Patients who took aspirin more than 80% of the time were grouped as adherents, while those who took lower than this percentage were grouped as non-adherents. The data for this study was provided by the Danish nationwide health registry.
Major findings
Study author Dr. Anna Meta Kristensen said," They assessed the long-term effects of aspirin on patients who were not receiving any other medication such as anticoagulants and P2Y12 inhibitors which are prescribed after heart attacks to prevent them. The logic behind this was that since these work just like aspirin in preventing the formation of blood clots they are eliminated from the study". The researchers wanted to find out whether patients who did not take aspirin as prescribed had a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or death as compared to those who regularly took the recommended dosage of aspirin.
The study found that when compared to the adherent patients, non-adherent patients were 29%, 40%, 31%, and 20% more likely of having another heart attack, stroke, and even dying at two, four, six, and eight years following the first heart attack.
However the lead author of the study Dr. Kristen recommended treating their findings with caution. The study only showed an association between aspirin leading to second-time heart attacks, but there could be other factors at work too, and added that current guidelines recommending long-term use of aspirin after a heart attack should continue to be followed.
(With inputs from ANI)
