5 ms·

"That means if 1,000 elderly women take aspirin daily for a decade, 11 of them will avoid a heart attack; meanwhile, twice that many will suffer a major gastroi

by breput 5y ago

"That means if 1,000 elderly women take aspirin daily for a decade, 11 of them will avoid a heart attack; meanwhile, twice that many will suffer a major gastrointestinal bleeding event that would not have occurred if they hadn’t been taking aspirin." "The U.S. task force wants to strongly discourage anyone 60 and older from starting a low-dose aspirin regimen, citing concerns about the age-related heightened risk for life-threatening bleeding." I understand that the bleeding is a serious concern, but does that have an immediate, potentially fatal or life changing impact - or does it happen with enough warning that you could stop taking aspirin and/or get medical assistance? If so, then I think most people would feel that is worth the risk to take aspirin even though it has a more numerically higher likelihood of a bad outcome.

banana_giraffe 5y ago
Generally, people aren't aware of the symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding. I'd assume without a pretty good education outreach, it'd be unlikely to be caught except in the really bad cases. And while you're right, that GI bleeding on it's own might not be a huge issue, I suspect a gastroenterologist would want to do a colonoscopy if it does happen, something that patients probably wont to avoid if they can.
perardi 5y ago
I understand that the bleeding is a serious concern, but does that have an immediate, potentially fatal or life changing impact - or does it happen with enough warning that you could stop taking aspirin and/or get medical assistance? Anecdote time! My dad was on a bit too many blood thinners—a prescription, and aspirin. He’d been feeling weak and a little down for a week. On a Friday night…bam, passed out, in the bathroom, and hit his head. Went to the ER. When…I’ll elide details…using the restroom, he had a huge GI bleed. They had to put 2 units of blood into him in the ICU. So, yeah, bleeds can be bad. As bad as a heart attack? No, but they really can sneak up on you.
- readflaggedcomm 5y ago
  I doubt extra blood thinners on top of aspirin's thinning effects were part of the study.

by breput 5y ago

banana_giraffe 5y ago

Generally, people aren't aware of the symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding. I'd assume without a pretty good education outreach, it'd be unlikely to be caught except in the really bad cases. And while you're right, that GI bleeding on it's own might not be a huge issue, I suspect a gastroenterologist would want to do a colonoscopy if it does happen, something that patients probably wont to avoid if they can.

perardi 5y ago

I understand that the bleeding is a serious concern, but does that have an immediate, potentially fatal or life changing impact - or does it happen with enough warning that you could stop taking aspirin and/or get medical assistance? Anecdote time! My dad was on a bit too many blood thinners—a prescription, and aspirin. He’d been feeling weak and a little down for a week. On a Friday night…bam, passed out, in the bathroom, and hit his head. Went to the ER. When…I’ll elide details…using the restroom, he had a huge GI bleed. They had to put 2 units of blood into him in the ICU. So, yeah, bleeds can be bad. As bad as a heart attack? No, but they really can sneak up on you.

readflaggedcomm 5y ago
I doubt extra blood thinners on top of aspirin's thinning effects were part of the study.