A new medical journal article calling for people to stop taking low doses of aspirin to prevent heart attacks was blasted by Chauncey Crandall, M.D., one of the nation’s top heart surgeons.
“This report is nothing but hogwash,” he tells Newsmax Health.
Dr. Crandall, chief of the cardiac transplant program at the world-renowned Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., says that he has successfully used aspirin to help prevent heart attacks throughout his 25 years of practice – and added he has no plans to stop now.
Dr. Crandall made his comments in response to research published this week in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The study, done by researchers at St. George’s University of London, questioned both the effectiveness of aspirin for people who have no symptoms of heart disease, and also warned against increased bleeding risk.
Current medical guidelines recommend that people take low-dose aspirin if they are at high risk of heart disease, even if they have never been diagnosed with heart problems or suffered a heart attack.
In the study, the researchers reviewed nine previous trials of aspirin use in people who had never had chest pain or any other symptoms of heart disease. Based on their analysis, the researchers contended that there was no sign aspirin prevented fatal heart attacks, but it did cause a small drop in non-fatal heart attacks.
The study also found that the rate of serious bleeding from stomach ulcers or because of other problems was 10.1 percent among people on aspirin and 9.6 among those who took a placebo.
“We have always known about the bleeding,” said Dr. Crandall, who believes the benefits of aspirin far outweigh the risk.
The bottom line, he says, is that “Aspirin helps prevent heart attack, which is the largest killer in the industrial world.”
Aspirin works by thinning the blood, which makes it less likely to clot.
Dr. Crandall – a newsmaxhealth.com contributor and author of the Heart Health Report – calls aspirin a true “miracle drug” that helps to prevent not only heart attack-causing blood clots, but also stops strokes and pulmonary embolisms, which are potentially fatal blood clots in the lungs.
“There are even some ancillary effects that show aspirin helps protect against colon cancer,” he says.
Generally, Dr. Crandall recommends that patients take a low dose (81 mg) of aspirin daily. In some of his elderly patients, he recommends they cut back to every other day. People who are taking other supplements or drugs that can also thin their blood, like fish oil, vitamin D, or warfarin (Coumadin) should check with their doctors about how much aspirin is right for them.
“With general use, we’ve never had a problem with aspirin,” Dr. Crandall said. “Aspirin is a safe drug. It’s been out there and been effective for more than 100 years, so why should we believe a small study from England?”
Editor's Note: These 4 Things Happen Right Before a Heart Attack
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