Aspirin use may extend the lives of heart patients

According to a recent study, people who take low dose aspirin regularly to reduce the risk of heart attack may also be substantially extending their lives, as the daily aspirin use significantly cuts the risk of death from any cause.The study was carried out at the Cleveland Clinic in USA. 6,174 adults with suspected heart disease were followed for a period of three years. These included 2,310 people who were taking one aspirin daily or on alternate days. 3,864 controls were included who were not taking aspirin. The average age of the aspirin users was 62 compared to 56 for the control group.It was found that regular low dose aspirin users faced a 33 percent lower risk of dying during the follow-up period than patients who didn't take aspirin. There were 276 deaths during that period. While there were about equal numbers of deaths in both groups, the aspirin group had a higher average age during the study compared to the control group.These findings also extend the known benefits for heart patients in taking low dose aspirin at least every other day. Previous studies have shown that the drug can reduce the risk of heart attack and the short-term risk of death in heart attack sufferers. This study establishes the long-term survival benefits of low dose aspirin for heart patients. However the greatest benefits were seen in patients who were physically unfit, over the age of 50 or known heart patients.