They no longer recommend taking preventive aspirin in adults over 60 with no history of heart disease

The side effects of consuming aspirin 2:52

(CNN) -

The US Preventive Services Task Force is studying the possibility of making several changes to its guidelines on taking a daily aspirin to prevent heart disease and stroke.

This Tuesday, the working group published a draft of its recommendation in which it is recommended that adults between 40 and 59 years old who have a higher risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease, but who do not have a history of the disease, decide with their doctor whether they should start taking aspirin, depending on their individual circumstances.

It is the first time the task force has recommended that adults in their 40s talk to their doctors about the advisability of taking aspirin for heart health.

The draft also contends that adults 60 and older should not start taking aspirin to prevent heart disease and stroke because, according to the task force, new evidence shows that the potential harms outweigh the benefits.

• When to take (and not) aspirin to prevent heart problems?

"The latest evidence is clear: Starting a daily aspirin regimen is not recommended for people 60 years of age or older to prevent a first heart attack or stroke," Group member Dr. Chien-Wen Tseng said in a statement. of work.

"However, this Task Force recommendation is not for people already taking aspirin for a previous heart attack or stroke; they should continue to do so unless their doctor tells them otherwise."

The draft recommendation was released for public comment, which can be submitted from now until November 8.

advertising

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, causing about one in four deaths.

While taking a low dose of aspirin every day has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke in some people, doing so also carries a serious risk of possible bleeding in the stomach, intestines and brain, according to the workgroup.

That risk of bleeding increases with age.

• People Who Eat More Milk Fat Have Lower Risk Of Heart Disease, Study Finds

"Daily use of aspirin can help prevent heart attacks and strokes in some people, but it can also cause potentially serious harm, such as internal bleeding," said Working Group member Dr. John Wong, in a statement. "It is important that people who are between 40 and 59 years old and have no history of heart disease have a discussion with their doctor to decide together if starting aspirin is right for them."

The last time the task force made a recommendation on daily aspirin use was in 2016, when it said the decision to start low-dose aspirin "should be individual" for adults ages 60 to 69. At the time, the task force recommended daily low-dose aspirin for adults ages 50 to 59 who have a 10% or greater risk of cardiovascular disease and are not at increased risk of bleeding.

The new draft recommendation updates the final 2016 recommendation of the working group on the use of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer, but the new project focuses solely on the prevention of cardiovascular disease and calls for more research on taking aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer.

• Experts lower the recommended age to start colorectal cancer screening to 45 years

Other groups have previously noted that the risks of a low daily dose of aspirin outweigh the benefits.

In 2019, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association published guidelines stating that daily low-dose aspirin is no longer recommended as a preventive for older adults who are not at high risk or have existing heart disease.

In 2018, a trio of studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that a daily low-dose aspirin regimen does not provide significant health benefits for healthy older adults.

On the contrary, it can cause serious damage to them.

Aspirin Cardiovascular disease