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#9
Aspirin on the Upswing, But
Underuse Still a Concern
Usage of aspirin has increased but more could benefit
A new study funded by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that the percentage of patients
with heart disease who report taking aspirin regularly increased
from 59 percent to 81 percent between 1995 and 1999. These results
reflect substantial improvements in practice, but additional
patients could benefit from this inexpensive, effective treatment
that reduces deaths from heart disease, recurrent heart attacks,
and strokes. The article is being published in the March 15 issue
of the American Journal of Cardiology.
Researchers
at one of seven AHRQ-supported Centers for Education and Research
on Therapeutics (CERTs), the Duke University Medical Center,
surveyed more than 25,000 patients from the Duke Databank for
Cardiovascular Diseases. They examined trends in aspirin use,
patient characteristics, and long-term outcomes for aspirin
effectiveness.
Researchers
found that patients who didn't take aspirin for reasons related to
their heart conditions had nearly twice the risk of dying than
those who took the drug regularly.
Study
results show a number of clear characteristics that were
predictors of aspirin use. Patients more likely to take the drug
were younger males, nonsmokers, and those who had suffered prior
heart attacks or undergone revascularization procedures in which
clogged arteries were unblocked. Those unlikely to take aspirin
regularly were patients with heart failure, diabetes, or
hypertension.
Clinical
trials have consistently shown patients with diabetes benefit more
from aspirin than do patients without diabetes.
The AHRQ-supported
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently issued a
recommendation to clinicians to discuss the benefits and risks of
aspirin therapy with healthy adults who are at risk of coronary
heart disease. The USPSTF recommendation was published in the
January 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Go to the
AHRQ Web site for additional information on the USPSTF and this
recommendation at .
The study, "Underuse
of Aspirin in a Referral Population with Documented Coronary
Artery Disease," is co-authored by Drs. Califf, DeLong, Ostbye,
Muhlbaier, and others, at the Duke University Medical Center.
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FACT:
72.9%
Percentage of people in the US are dieting
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