Yahoo! Life: Tens of Millions of Older Americans Are Taking Low-Dose Aspirin, Survey Finds

Yahoo! Life recently interviewed Martha Gulati, MD, director of Preventive Cardiology in the Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, about the effectiveness of daily low-dose aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke.

A recent study found that aspirin, which helps prevent blood clots—a common trigger of heart attack or stroke—can cause internal bleeding in older adults who do not already have cardiovascular disease.

Gulati, who was not involved in the study, told Yahoo! Life that the findings are applicable only to people who take aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke—not those who already have cardiovascular disease and are taking aspirin as prescribed by their physician to prevent a second cardiac event or blood clot.

“If you’re on aspirin because you have known cardiovascular disease, you should be taking your aspirin,” said Gulati, the Anita Dann Friedman Chair in Women's Cardiovascular Medicine and Research.

Gulati told Yahoo! Life that staying physically active and socially connected are among the best ways to prevent heart disease.

“Talk to your doctor about things in your lifestyle that you should be doing on a regular basis to keep your body healthy,” she said. “Just keep your body moving because exercise is always an independent predictor of mortality and cardiovascular mortality.”

Maintaining social connections in older age also is important, Gulati said, because loneliness can lead to “depression, and depression can affect your heart health as well.”

Other ways to lower the risk of heart disease include eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and controlling cholesterol and blood pressure.

Click here to read the complete article in Yahoo! Life.