Aspirin for preventing heart attack and stroke - jury is still out and NOT for diabetics |
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Doctors should not routinely give aspirin to people with diabetes to help
guard against a heart attack or stroke, a
British study found in 2008. Another study found while it didn't
help prevent a FIRST heart attack or stroke it was appropriate for those
who have had a heart attack or stroke to possibly prevent a second heart
attack or stroke. What aspirin supposedly does is thin the blood so that if a clot is in a major artery or vein, thinner blood might get through. The use of "aspirin therapy" is really pretty unproven except for (are we ready again?) big epidemiological studies and we all know how NOT accurate THOSE are. The idea is that taking a 70 mg aspirin every night won't hurt you and it might help you. However, the Bayer company admitted in a C.M.E. (that's a course for medical providers where they tell the facts they don't tell the patient) that taking even low dose aspirin is not without its risks. 1 patient in 5000 gets a brain bleed or hemorrhagic stroke. 1 in 1000 patients gets a severe gastro-intestinal bleed. Additionally it's well known that aspirin also interferes with the protective coating cells produce to prevent ulcers from forming from stomach acid. Medical providers must be aware of this because when a friend of ours got a brain bleed with NO other risk factors, he was told to stop taking the nightly low dose aspirin. It should be noted that taking reasonable amounts of Vitamin E also thins the blood without the risks of aspirin. |