YOUR HEALTH: Aspirin, the wonder drug for cardiovascular disease – Packet Online

   The call was sounded, and women donned red dresses on Feb. 5, even Drumthwacket was red on that day.

   It was done to increase awareness for cardio disease, which claims the lives of much more compared to 600,000 individuals in the United States each year, according to the Centers for ailment Manage and Prevention.

   Study after study has actually revealed the efficacy and safety of the wonder drug that is aspirin. Additionally known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), aspirin has actually been about for centuries. Derived from a plant frequently known as meadowsweet, its medicinal properties have actually been touted across a spectrum of cultures.

   Exactly what are its benefits? “Prevention of first (primary) and subsequent (secondary) cardio and cerebrovascular events,” said Dr. Pejman Fani, a family physician visiting Princeton.

   So, that must be on low-dose aspirin? “Male patients that are older compared to 45 and female patients that are older compared to 55 could reward from low-dose aspirin for primary preventative care,” Dr. Fani said. “Patients along with prior history of heart attack or ischemic stroke could Additionally reward from being treated along with aspirin for secondary prevention.”

   Of course, there are some risks associated along with its use. “There is an increased risk of bleeding, such as intracranial and gastrointestinal bleeds,” Dr. Fani said. “Patients along with prior history of strokes and gastric or duodenal ulcers might be at better risk of bleeding.

   He adds that patients starting on aspirin must be careful if they are “already using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or are on various other anticoagulant therapies such as warfarin or novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs).”

   Exactly what else can easily aspirin do? One more reward involves the potential anti-cancer properties the drug possesses.

   ”Studies have actually Additionally indicated feasible rewards in preventing colorectal cancer along with low-dose aspirin treatment, yet US Preventative Task Force currently recommends versus using aspirin for colorectal cancer prevention,” Dr. Fani said. “The 2016 USPTF guidelines on this topic are in progress.”

   According to a study published in “EBioMedicine,” colorectal cancer incidence was reduced in patients that were routine aspirin users versus those that were not.

   An additional study found that some patients that took the medication after their cancer diagnosis lived longer. In order to reap the benefit, their tumors need to express a particular antigen, according to a Reuters report of a study published in “JAMA Internal Medicine.”

   One study published in “Diabetologia” found that time of day mattered significantly as quickly as taking statins and aspirin. as quickly as compared to taking the medications in the morning, study participants that took them at night were 57 percent much less most likely to produce diabetes over a six-year period.

   What’s in a name? In a letter to the editor published in the “Texas Heart Institute Journal,” Dr. Tsung Cheng shared the origin of the word aspirin, noting that the ‘a’ represents acetylsalicylic acid; the ‘spir’ refers to the scientific name of the plant from which it was very first derived, Spiraea ulmaria; and the ‘in’ which appears merely to be the preposition as we already know it.