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We have been advocating the daily dosage of aspirin for some time now (FDA approval ca. 1985) to preclude heart attacks (primarily for patients at risk from heart disease due to cholesterol, diabetes, or obesity). Aspirin works by preventing the formation of blood clots- which would impede the flow of blood. It also may preclude heart attacks and lessen their intensity should they occur. The problem is this ‘blood-thinning’ can make it tougher to have your blood clot in an emergency. It’s the reason a ‘baby’ dosage is suggested; at 81 mg, the blood thinning action is greatly attenuated. Several years ago, Campbell et. all. published a literature analysis that provided this lower dosage as optimum. (When the dosage exceeded 200 mg, 11% of the patients manifested bleeding in the brain, stomach, or elsewhere. It was considered that dosages exceeding 100 mg may have similar negative effects. Less than 3% of those taking baby aspirin had such episodes.)
It should be noted that aspirin does not ‘last’ 24 hours in the body. Dependent upon the dosage administered, the half-life ranges from 3 to 9 hours- and those are for dosages ranging from 300 mg to 2 g. The key point is that the use of baby aspirin is not in the concentration of acetylsalicylic acid in the blood, but it’s action on platelets, which lasts some 7 to 10 days after the terminating aspirin. [Note: For use, God forbid during a heart attack, chewing (to speed its activity)and swallowing full strength aspirin is probably best- but there are no long term studies concerning this concept.]
Now, there’s another reason to take a daily aspirin dose. Two new studies have been published that demonstrate the use of aspirin in the management of colon cancer. Drs. Brenner, Tao, and Haug reported in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) that aspirin does not interfere with the fecal occult blood test (a means for screening for colon cancer. Peripherally, they noted that the incidence of colon cancer was greatly diminished in the population that took a daily dose of aspirin compared to the control (five year study).
These results were amplified by a paper published by Rothwell et. al. in the Lancet. Rothwell examined the results from more than 25000 patients (and the associated 674 deaths due to cancer). They found that a daily dosage of aspirin (at least six years in duration) certainly is effective against colon cancer (25% reduction in incidence), with less certainty for other causes of cancer. They also found the dosage to be much lower than what had been occasionally recommended (500 mg); dosages in excess of that of baby aspirin provided no advantage to the patient. [It should be noted that European dosages of aspirin differ from those in America; baby aspirin is 75 and 81 mg, respectively; adult dosages are 300 and 325 mg.] The publication included the results from those who took a placebo, as well as various dosages of aspirin. The researchers theorized that aspirin precludes the production of an enzyme that is critical to the propagation of cancers of the breast, stomach, esophagus, and colon.
Since heart disease is the primary cause of death in developed countries and colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer, one should discuss taking a baby dose of aspirin with one’s physician as soon as possible.
