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Researchers
have found that not everybody gets the same heart disease
protection from taking aspirin, according to a report in the
March 25 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart
Association.
Some people
have a higher risk of dying from heart disease because the
aspirin in their bodies does not effectively block a chemical
known as thromboxane that promotes blood clotting, according
to John W. Eikelboom, a clinical lecturer at the University
of Western Australia's Royal Perth Hospital.
In the
study, patients taking aspirin who had a high level of thromboxane
in their urine had a 3.5 times higher risk of cardiovascular
death than patients who had the lowest level. High levels
of thromboxane in the urine can identify those who are resistant
to aspirin, according to the researchers.
The American
Heart Association recommends aspirin for all patients with
artery disease and a second antiplatelet medicine for those
with uncontrolled chest pain called unstable angina.
Eikelboom
cautions that the findings don't suggest a need to limit aspirin
use since aspirin therapy can reduce the risk for cardiovascular
events by 25 percent.
"Our
results suggest that some patients may need more protection
than aspirin alone can offer," he said, while adding
that this may include alternative antiplatelet therapies or
treatments that more effectively block thromboxane production.
Source:
Heart
Disease Week of March 31, 2002
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