Are asipirins harmful for the heart? Study finds out

The verdict on aspirin has been mixed for a while now. Should healthy people take aspirin to ward off heart diseases? But after a review of scientific data on the topic, the benefits seem slight and are counterbalanced by a similar amount of rise in bleeding risks. Aspirins are known as blood thinners that help prevent clotting of blood that causes heart attacks or strokes. Additionally, aspirins also boost the risk of haemorrhage in the brain, stomach, and intestines.

“When considering the totality of evidence, cardiovascular benefits associated with aspirin were modest and equally balanced by major bleeding events," said the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

10 prior studies involving a total of more than 164,000 people with an average age of 62 were examined thoroughly for the meta-analysis. Aspirin users and non-aspirin users were compared. The researchers found "significant reductions" in strokes, heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular disease among those who took aspirin.

“In my opinion, there is no place for routine use of aspirin in patients who are healthy," said Sean Zheng, a cardiologist at King's College Hospital and lead author of the JAMA report. "Maybe it's because it's over the counter and it's described as baby aspirin, but actually our data show that there is a very real risk, and you shouldn't take it with the expectation that it's completely benign and safe."

Looks like we’re staying away from an aspirin no matter bad our fever is!