Don't use aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease, FDA warns

[Steve Williams]

By Arielle Duhaime-Ross , The Verge

Going against years of widely dispensed advice, the FDA warned the public in a statement yesterday that most people shouldn't take aspirin to prevent heart attacks, Bloomberg reports.



In the statement, the FDA explained that ingesting aspirin on a regular basis isn't recommended to people who have never experienced a cardiovascular event because the drug raises a person's risk of experiencing stomach and brain bleeds. Even people who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, but haven't experienced any symptoms yet, should refrain from taking the drug as a preventative measure. In short, the benefits of the drug only outweigh the risks in cases where people have already experienced a stroke or a heart attack.

The announcement was prompted by the FDA's decision last week to block pharmaceutical company Bayer AG from changing the drug's labeling. The proposed changes would have allowed the company to market aspirin as a heart attack prevention drug for people who don't have heart problems. Following the decision, Bayer spokesperson Anne Coiley reminded Bloomberg in an email that "the ruling does not impact the numerous cardiovascular indications for which aspirin is already approved by the FDA."

 

[wisnon]

Wow, they are as late on this as they are on warning people about Statins.

Cox-2 drugs??? No way.

 

[mep]

I for one am so sick of the daily/weekly/monthly oscillations of something being very bad for your health only to be subsequently deemed great for your health, and then returns to being bad for your health until the cycle repeats. After awhile, you just stop believing what the government and marketing machines tell you and go with your own knowledge and experience.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Speaking of dos and don'ts and total misinformation:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303678404579533760760481486

 

[Asamel]

The truth is that these questions just aren't that easy to answer. It takes years of study, thousands or millions of participants, and God knows how many hours of pouring over data to see anything.

 

[GaryProtein]

The truth is that these questions just aren't that easy to answer. It takes years of study, thousands or millions of participants, and God knows how many hours of pouring over data to see anything.

If something takes thousands or millions of participants and several decades to see if something makes a difference as a preventive, doing it and not doing it have about the same results.

If something was clearly better, it would become apparent in a shorter period of time with fewer participants.

 

[rbbert]

I think a big "take home" from this, similar to what I was emphasizing in the Lipitor thread, is that the idea of using any pharmaceutical product for primary prevention of any disease is a very iffy proposition at our current state of knowledge.

 

[mep]

I think a big "take home" from this, similar to what I was emphasizing in the Lipitor thread, is that the idea of using any pharmaceutical product for primary prevention of any disease is a very iffy proposition at our current state of knowledge.

And I love the fact that most every drug being advertised on TV to fix one medical problem has side effects that can cause a bunch of new diseases either mental, physical, or both to manifest. My favorite is anti-depressants that may cause suicidal thoughts or actions.

 

[Steve Williams]

And I love the fact that most every drug being advertised on TV to fix one medical problem has side effects that can cause a bunch of new diseases either mental, physical, or both to manifest. My favorite is anti-depressants that may cause suicidal thoughts or actions.

or how about the admonitions given re side effects of an advertised sleeping pill as "causing drowsiness"

 

[mep]

or how about the admonitions given re side effects of an advertised sleeping pill as "causing drowsiness"

That's probably a spillover (no pun intended) from the McDonalds fiasco with people not understanding that coffee is served hot unless they buy iced coffee.

 

[Speedskater]

Link to the Arielle Duhaime-Ross article, but it's only 3 paragraphs long.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/6/56...n-to-prevent-cardiovascular-disease-fda-warns

 

[Ronm1]

I would always chuckle when drug TV ads first started to appear, as the caveats, if spoken at the same speed as the ad itself would be about as long.

 

[mep]

I would always chuckle when drug TV ads first started to appear, as the caveats, if spoken at the same speed as the ad itself would be about as long.

And the side effects are commonly horrendous and many of them have the "may cause death" clause in them.

 

[MylesBAstor]

So basically the adverse effects outweigh the myriad positive effects of aspirin on not just on CHD but say colon cancer? Do you think the powers to be would have come up with this recommendation say if aspirin was under patent from a large pharmaceutical?

 

[rbbert]

So basically the adverse effects outweigh the myriad positive effects of aspirin on not just on CHD but say colon cancer? Do you think the powers to be would have come up with this recommendation say if aspirin was under patent from a large pharmaceutical?

It all depends on risk assessment. If we had enough data to accurately identify truly high-risk groups, some limited primary prevention might make sense. But as you say, it really all comes down to money and influence; statins got their primary prevention indication with shakier stats than aspirin's.

 

[wisnon]

Speaking of dos and don'ts and total misinformation:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303678404579533760760481486

View attachment 15555

Sorry Peter, but the gist of the article is correct. A Lancet publication of a reputable study showed this in the 1990s. The danger to the heart is DENATURATED poly-unsaturated fat. Yes the processed corn/soya/canola oils in clear plastic bottles that we buy in Supermarket and cook with. They are DEAD fats and while the cold-pressed poly-unsaturated fats are ESSENTIAL to health, when they are highly processed and killed (for shelf life and proits) they become slow POISONS.

1994

• No saturated fats found in aortic plaque! Lancet 1994;344:1195-96. [shows serious doubts as to whether eating saturated fat causes heart disease?]

• Cholesterol-lowering drugs do not work significantly. Journal of American Medical Association, 1994, No. 272, pages 1335-1340.

• “HDL/LDL ratio does not improve when saturated fat is replaced by carbohydrate. Low-fat diet has been considerably less effective in lowering total or LDL cholesterol than predicted.” Journal of Cardiovascular Risk; No. 1, June 1994.

• Pharmaceutical companies buy editorials to influence medical care. New England Journal of Medicine, 331:674;1994

 

[rblnr]

I better keep exercising.

 

[BobM]

Excercise is always key to health, but like anything else it can be overdone. While recently researching some new information on atrial fibrillation I read that marathon athletes are prone to this problem.

I take an aspirin a day for a-fibs, along with a minor dose of a beta blocker to keep them at bay. But I do drink a few mouthfulls of water to wash them down to avoid that aspirin ulcer creation if there is nothing else in my stomache. My dad got a bleeding ulcer from dry swallowing aspirin and almost died from it.

 

[wisnon]

Take a balanced blend of EFA oils (2 parts organic/cold/pressed Omega 6 oil, eg evening primrose or sunflower oil…to one part Omega 3, eg flax oil). Stay clear of fish oil. Also take some systemic enzymes before going to bed for a full system clean. All this great info is free, so many wont value it for what it is truly worth.

 

[jazdoc]

I for one am so sick of the daily/weekly/monthly oscillations of something being very bad for your health only to be subsequently deemed great for your health, and then returns to being bad for your health until the cycle repeats. After awhile, you just stop believing what the government and marketing machines tell you and go with your own knowledge and experience.

I trust the government. They know what is best for me.

The science is settled. I for one will not give "nutrition deniers" the time of day.