Aspirin is not for everybody.

New guidelines for preventive aspirin have been issued based on reviews of all available studies. These new guidelines recommend low-dose aspirin (80-100 mg/day) for men aged 45-79 and for women aged 55-79 after their blood pressure is normalized.  In these age groups, the risk of bleeding is offset by aspirin’s cardiovascular benefits.  These benefits are different for men and women: they prevent heart attacks for men and strokes for women.  Aspirin should not be given preventively to patients who are at high risk of stomach bleeding such as patients with history of bleeding ulcers or those taking arthritis pills such as Naproxen or Ibuprofen.  If such patients need aspirin prevention, it needs to be given with a stomach acid suppressor such as Nexium.  People over 80 have high risks of bleeding because their stomach lining becomes thin with age.  If they need aspirin, their blood pressure should be normal, they should have no history of stomach ulcers or bleeds, and they should be given an acid suppressor to reduce the bleeding risk. (Prescriber’s Letter, Vol. 16, No. 6, June 2009).