Many Americans don’t see anything wrong with taking daily low-dose aspirin, even though experts have concluded its risks outweigh its benefits, a new survey has found.
Nearly half (48%) of people incorrectly think that the benefits of taking low-dose aspirin daily to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke outweigh the risks, according to the survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
“Habits backed by conventional wisdom and the past advice of health care providers are hard to break,” Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the center’s director, said in a news release.
“Knowing whether taking a low-dose aspirin daily is advisable or not for you is vital health information,” she added.
For years, healthy seniors were advised to take low-dose aspirin to reduce heart attack and stroke risk.
The rationale was that aspirin acts as a blood thinner, reducing the risk that a blood clot could cause a heart attack or stroke by clogging an artery.