Despite current guidelines discouraging aspirin use, many older adults continue to take aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease. Surveys show that many adults aged 60 and older still take aspirin without medical advice, highlighting the need for improved doctor-patient communication on this issue.
The findings underscore the urgent need for doctors to ask about aspirin use.
Many older adults continue to use aspirin for primary prevention, even though guidelines do not recommend it. Cardiovascular diseaseIt highlighted the need for greater physician involvement in medication management.
A survey of approximately 150 million adults conducted annually found that many older adults continue to use aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), despite the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines not recommending it. The study authors stress that it is crucial for physicians to ask their older patients about aspirin use and consider its potential benefits and risks. These results suggest that Annals of Internal Medicine.
Cleveland Clinic researchers examined data from the National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult Component (2012-2019 and 2021) to identify prevalence trends in aspirin use for CVD prevention. Participants aged 40 years and older were asked to report aspirin use and were stratified by age group and CVD status based on self-reported history of stroke, myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, or angina.
New guidelines reduce aspirin use
The data showed that aspirin use decreased from 2018 to 2019 after new evidence led the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association to no longer recommend aspirin therapy for primary prevention in older adults.
Yet, even after this decrease, about one-third of adults aged 60 years or older without CVD still used aspirin in 2021, and about one in 20 used it without a doctor’s advice. Overall, 25.6 million adults in the United States reported aspirin use, and 18.5 million adults aged 60 years or older used aspirin in 2021. The findings suggest that inappropriate use of aspirin among older adults needs to be reduced.
Reference: “Prevalence of Aspirin Use for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Among U.S. Adults, 2012 to 2021,” by Mohak Gupta, Snigdha Gulati, Kurram Nasir, and Ashish Saraj, June 25, 2024, Annals of Internal Medicine.
Publication date: 10.7326/M24-0427
