Try to be cautious from the next time while you take on aspirin. Never forget to follow the newly released guidelines especially for those who take an aspirin a day to keep at bay a potential heart attack or stroke. The guidelines have been introduced by the U.S. Preventative Service Task Force (USPSTF) and have been customized for age and gender. Let me say something before you embark on. Always remember that the new recommendations are relevant to those only who have never suffered a heart attack or stroke.

What has led to the introduction of these guidelines? It is the new inference. The last recommendations were released by the task force in 2002 but in the meantime there have been new developments. New researches emerging on aspirin are prescribed to vulnerable patients and researches indicate that patient symptoms, medical history, age, and gender also need to be considered. All these have led the task force release new recommendations. What may be the result? It is not known yet but there are speculations that recommendations may have an effect on many adults throughout the U.S since almost one-third of American adults have become familiar with taking aspirin daily to fend off a pending heart attack or stroke.

What should the patients do therefore? They, on the basis of these advices, may need to weigh the benefits against the potential risks, of taking the medication. Well, USPSTF has also introduced recommendations for patients who have never suffered a stroke or heart attack in regard to a daily aspirin as a preventative measure. All you should do is to get hold of it at the earliest and have a consultation with any doctor of medicine.

Speaking on this Dr. Michael Pignone, a member of USPSTF and Chief of General Internal Medicine at the University of North Carolina, told, “The updated USPSTF recommendation emphasizes the importance of considering the potential benefits and downsides of using aspirin for cardiovascular prevention. It’s clear that discussing aspirin use with patients in the targeted age groups should become standard practice for clinicians.”