The American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the American College of Cardiology just updated their recommendations on the use of aspirin in patients with diabetes.
The new recommendation: Low-dose aspirin is an appropriate and effective prophylactic method for diabetes patients with certain cardiovascular disease risks. Who are those folks? Mostly patients over 50 (men) or 60 (women), with one or more risk factors for a vascular event. (Risk factors include smoking, hypertension, and a family history of heart disease, among other things.) The new advice says that if patients are diabetic with few or no risk factors for vascular disease, they probably won't benefit from taking aspirin. This is a change to the earlier recommendation, which stated that diabetes patients over 40 with one risk factor for cardiovascular disease should take aspirin.
So what does this mean for you? It may mean that you're no longer in the group advised to take aspirin to prevent heart trouble. Consult with your doctor to find out more and draft a new action plan for your health.
