Over the past century, there has been a dramatic increase in life expectancy leading to a demographic shift toward an aging society. Maintaining good health in older individuals has become a public health aim, but cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of disability and death, therefore, a solution to these diseases has become a top priority. At Integrative Cardiology Center Of Long Island, a holistic cardiologist in Nassau County, we treat and help prevent all types of cardiovascular diseases.

Low-dose aspirin has been a popularly recognized form of prevention of cardiac episodes over the last several decades, however, has known risks including organ damage. In a recent study conducted by doctors, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, they explored “the effect of aspirin on cardiovascular events and bleeding in the healthy elderly. From 2010 through 2014, researchers enrolled community-dwelling men and women living in Australia and the United States ages 70 and older — ages 65 or older among blacks and Hispanics in the U.S. — who did not have any record of cardiovascular disease, disability, or dementia. Participants either received a 100 mg of enteric-coated aspirin or a placebo.

In secondary prevention trials, the benefits associated with reducing the rates of cardiac events outweighed the risk of hemorrhage. In primary prevention trials — involving participants with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than that of those in the secondary prevention trials — taking low-dose aspirin actually had the same risks and benefits.

The results

Of the 19,114 persons enrolled in the trial, 9,525 received aspirin and 9,589 received placebo. Participants were followed up with for approximately 4.7 years. In the aspirin group, there were 10.7 cardiac events per 1000 person-years and in the placebo group,11.3 events per 1000 person-years whereas 8.6 major hemorrhage events in the aspirin group and 6.2 events in the placebo group.

This study concluded that the use of low-dose aspirin as a primary prevention method in older adults did not result in a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease than placebo as compared to the risk of major hemorrhage.

At ICCLI, a holistic cardiologist in Nassau County, we utilize both traditional and holistic treatment options. Depending on the nature of your cardiac condition, many lifestyle changes can help drastically reduce your chances of experiencing a cardiac episode. Relying on medication like low-dose aspirin should only be done under the guidance of a physician.

Contact us today to learn how to improve your quality of life with our holistic cardiologist in Nassau County today!