Aspirin

• Aspirin has been used for a long time as a painkiller. It also acts to lower the risk of forming a blood clot in the blood vessels of the heart or brain. This lowers the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
• Aspirin works by reducing the stickiness of small fragments in the blood (platelets) which help blood to clot.
• The dose of aspirin to prevent blood clots is usually 75 mg per day – much less than you take for pain relief.

Find out more at: 

https://patient.info/health/aspirin-and-other-antiplatelet-medicines#nav-0

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.4172.pdf

Research suggests:

In a group of 1428 people between 19 and 94, with no prior history of heart disease or stroke,  Aspirin will prevent one person  from this group (on average) from having a heart attack or stroke.

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It is not possible to tell what will happen to you as an individual.

Find out more about this research at: 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60503-1/fulltext

Tooltip: Patients had high blood pressure or other risk factors for heart disease without overt disease.

You can discuss with your health professional  the possible side effects and other risks Aspirin might have.

Side-effects are unwanted affects that can happen to your body when taking a medicine. 

Not everyone will get side-effects. These usually improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following side-effects persist or worry you.

Most people do not have any side-effects with low-dose Aspirin.

• The most serious possible side-effects that affect a small number of people include the following:
• Bleeding in the stomach or gut
• Allergy to aspirin
• Affecting your breathing if you have asthma.

There are other side-effects that are less common or rare. 

Find out more at https://patient.info/health/aspirin-and-other-antiplatelet-medicines#nav-0