A new survey sponsored by Partnership for Prevention and the Council on Aspirin for Health Prevention discovered that a little more than half of the adult population uses the one aspirin a day treatment plan to help prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular conditions.

1 Aspirin a day

The majority of physicians prescribe the one aspirin a day regiment to any patient that has suffered from a heart attack or stroke. The aspirin helps to thin the blood and allows the blood to flow through the arteries easier. This increased blood circulation can help to reduce the chances of a person suffering from a second heart attack or stroke.

The proper dosage for the daily aspiring is 81mg. That is called a low dose aspirin or a baby aspirin.

People who have had a heart attack or stroke significantly lower their chances of having another one when they follow the daily aspirin regimen as prescribed by their cardiologist.

Number of people taking the once a day aspirin that have no history of heart attacks or strokes

About forty five percent of adults that have had no heart related issues like heart attacks or strokes are still taking the low dose aspirin each day. The good news is that the majority of people who are on the once a day aspirin regimen do not start doing this until they have spoken with their doctors.

Before a doctor recommends a person who has never had a heart attack or stroke begin to take a low dose aspirin each day they consider many factors bout the person’s health.

They take into consideration the family history of heart disease, whether the person smokes cigarettes, their weight, their cholesterol readings, and their blood pressure numbers.

Risks Associated with taking a daily aspirin

Even taking a low dose aspirin can put you at risk for bleeding in the stomach. The risk for stomach bleeding in people taking a once a day low dose aspirin is around five people out of every one thousand people. That is a fairly small risk factor.

This small risk factor is enough that it prevents doctors from recommending people who have no history of heart attacks or strokes, and are not at a high risk of developing these conditions, to start taking an aspirin each day.

Benefits associated with a daily aspirin regimen

Aspiring thins the blood so it prevents clots from forming in the arteries. Clots in arteries are a cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Aspirin has anti-inflammatory properties that allow it to help percent the instability of plaque that is present in the arteries. Unstable plaque is a major cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Should everyone take an aspirin a day?

It is not recommended that anyone begins to take an aspirin each day without consulting their physician and determining if the benefits they will receive from the daily aspirin will be greater than the risk they will be taking of stomach bleeding.