Aspirin is in fact very dangerous and millions of people take it everyday to reduce the chance of heart attack, when in fact they are also increasing the chance of a fatal hemorrhagic stroke. Aspirin interferes with your body’s ability to prevent bleeding by clumping platelets together at the site of the wound (clotting). This clotting action is the cause of heart attack if your arteries are clogged by fatty deposits, and also stroke if clotting blocks blood flow to the brain. However, thinning the blood makes hemorrhagic stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding worse, and can cause allergic reactions and hearing loss in some cases. When combined with ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc.), aspirin’s effectiveness is reduced, and when combined anti-coagulants (Coumadin, generic: warfarin), it is very dangerous.
According to the Mayo Clinic, you should only consider taking a baby aspirin daily if you’ve had a heart attack or clot-related stroke, or you are at high risk of either. Risk factors are high blood pressure, bad cholesterol levels, smoking, heavy drinking, diabetes, stress, obesity, inactivity, and family history. Aspirin should not be taken if you have asthma, hemophilia, stomach ulcers, or heart failure. Aspirin is more dangerous in diabetics, so the American Diabetes Association recommends low-dose aspirin only to men over 50 and women over 60 who have at least one risk factor for heart disease. Aspirin should not be taken during pregnancy. Stopping an aspirin regimen abruptly is dangerous. Your risk of heart attack or stroke may become even greater than it was before you started taking aspirin.
Aspirin results from the unnatural mixing of salicylic acid with sodium and acetyl chloride. It was first patented, named, and marketed by Bayer in the 1890s. Along with heroin, also developed by Felix Hoffman, aspirin was the literally started the pharmaceutical industry. Aspirin initially sold poorly as it was thought to be more dangerous than heroin, but aspirin took off when heroin was found to be highly addictive.
I am 19 and have not been to a doctor in years. I have no known heart problems and I do not take aspirin, though I am about 30 pounds overweight. My father is 50 and takes half an aspirin every couple days. He has not had a heart attack or stroke and has also not been examined by a doctor in many years. I would prefer the adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” to “an aspirin a day keeps the doctor away.” Where the benefit of eating fruits and vegetables is obvious, the benefit of taking vitamins to compensate for a lousy diet is evident, but merely a band-aid. The benefit of taking a synthesized, dangerous drug as a preventative, not even attacking an actual condition, is ludicrous, in this student’s opinion.
Links:
http://www.wisegeek.com/how-was-aspirin-invented.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/daily-aspirin-therapy/HB00073
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/tc/low-dose-aspirin-therapy-topic-overview
http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/should-everyone-take-an-aspirin-a-day
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Heart_Letter/2009/June/New-guidelines-refine-aspirin-prescription
This is an essay I wrote for my college-credit course Personal Health and Wellness (PET2084).