High Aspirin Dosage May Curb Heart Attack Risk in Diabetes

The study, carried out at the University of Alberta, investigated the properties of aspirin in its use as a preventative measure for cardiovascular disease, as well as the reoccurrence in patients with type 2 diabetes. It involved analyzing information from clinical trials, to assess if taking aspirin as a course of treatment would be able to prevent a first or recurrent heart attack or stroke.

It was shown that patients who had previously experienced a cardiac episode and who also took a low dose of aspirin every day received very little benefit with regards to preventing a second heart attack or a lowering the risk of mortality. For those people who took a higher dose of aspirin every day, on the other hand, the chances of a repeat heart attack and/or death was seen to be much reduced.

Researcher Scot Simpson commented "We took all of the data from 21 studies and focused specifically on diabetic patients who had suffered a previous heart attack or stroke to measure the ability of aspirin to prevent a second event."

He added, "We found that, if those patients took up to 325 milligrams of aspirin per day, they had a 23 percent lower risk of death."

Diabetes UK July 7, 2011