Beware: Women More Likely on Aspirin Inappropriately

Aspirin 3D model
I recently wrote about how aspirin is no longer recommended as first-line therapy to prevent A-Fib stroke. (See my posts: New A-Fib Guidelines: Ditch the Aspirin for Stroke Prevention; and More Than 1 in 10 Take Aspirin When They Shouldn’t)
In doing my research, I came across aspirin therapy studies that should be of interest to women.
Another Example of Gender Bias
One research study found that women were more likely than men to receive inappropriate aspirin therapy.
Another study spanning 15 years followed nearly 28,000 women taking aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The findings? For most women the benefits of aspirin did not outweigh the risks of bleeding complications.
The researchers concluded that aspirin “is ineffective or harmful in the majority of women with regard to the combined risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and major gastrointestinal bleeding.”
Like Other Blood Thinners, Aspirin is a Pharmaceutical Drug
It’s all too easy to take an aspirin―we don’t need a prescription to get it. But taking an aspirin isn’t like taking a vitamin. Aspirin is a pharmaceutical drug.
Discuss aspirin therapy with your doctor just as you’d do for any ‘by prescription’ blood thinner. (Take along a copy of my posts cited above.)