Study Shows Millions Take Daily Aspirin Without Doctor's Advice
BOSTON (CBS) -- Daily aspirin is recommended for millions of Americans to treat or prevent heart disease, but a new study finds that millions more take it without their doctor's advice.
Aspirin can cause serious bleeding and routine use is not recommended in people over 70 and people with a history of stomach ulcers or GI bleeding. But in this study, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School found that about 6-million Americans over 40 are taking a daily aspirin without a physician's advice.
Almost half of adults 70 and older without known heart disease are taking a daily aspirin, as are many people with peptic ulcer disease who are at higher risk of bleeding.
They urge health care practitioners to talk to their patients about aspirin use and counsel them on who should take it and who should not.