ARE YOU ASPIRIN-RESISTANT?

[RedCountry]

About 20 million Americans with cardiovascular diseases are on “aspirin therapy” to prevent heart attack and stroke. But recent studies show that aspirin is not for everyone—and that an undiagnosed resistance to aspirin can endanger patients’ life.

 

Researchers say that 5-40% of aspirin users could be resistant to its blood-thinning qualities; thus, it doesn’t prevent their blood from clotting. That means resistant patients who use aspirin therapy unwittingly treat themselves with “placebos” that have no effect on their condition whatsoever.

 

As the New York Times reported, “in a [2002] Canadian study… the quartile of patients who were most resistant… had an 80% higher rate of stroke, heart attack or death from cardiovascular causes in the next five years than the quartile of patients who were most responsive. The rate of death alone was three and a half times as great.”

 

If a patient happens to be resistant, as a first step the physician might try to increase the aspirin dose, which has proven effective in some cases. Don’t try this at home, though; according to a 1997 report published in the peer-reviewed Annals of Internal Medicine, the use of NSAID’s (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen accounts for 7,600 deaths and 76,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. per year.

 

“My biggest fear is that people will be doubling the dose,” said Dr. Steven R. Steinhubl, director of cardiovascular research and education at the University of Kentucky, to the NY Times. “We might just end up doubling the side effects and not end up helping the patients.”

 

If a higher dose doesn’t work, the practitioner will likely prescribe an alternative blood-clotting drug like Plavix. This is usually the second step, because Plavix can cost $3 or more a day.

 

So before starting aspirin therapy, you should have yourself tested for resistance. Ask for the test (there are several variations, called AspirinWorks, PFA-100, or VerifyNow) since most doctors don’t do it routinely.

 

Granted, aspirin is still one of the most tried and true prevention drugs against heart attack and stroke—but as any drug, it does have side effects. Ergo, it’s not worth taking the risk if you may be resistant.