A potent drug found in most medicine cabinets, aspirin seems to provide more and more health benefits as medical research studies continue. Here are some of the latest promising developments concerning aspirin:
1) Heart attack and strokes— studies have shown that aspirin, taken every other day by men and women who have had heart attacks, chest pain and strokes caused by clogged blood vessels, can reduce the risk of a second heart attack and lower overall death rates. However, it should be noted that the study also suggests that aspirin may promote those strokes caused by bleeding in the brain.
The major study, conducted by researchers in Boston, concludes that aspirin is as good as clot-dissolving drugs and high-tech procedures for controlling angina, the dangerous chest pain which afflicts 750,000 Americans every year. The study involved almost 1,400 patients and is, to date, the largest ever conducted in order to determine the best treatment for unstable angina— the leading cause of admissions to hospital coronary-care units.
Studies by French researchers suggest that aspirin may help women who have had previous miscarriages deliver a healthy baby. However, since aspirin can cause bleeding in the late stages of pregnancy, it is not likely to be used except in high-risk cases.
Caution: Although these studies suggest that aspirin may provide some benefits to pregnant women, you should not take the drug without first getting your doctor’s permission.
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