New Guidelines on Taking Aspirin for Your Heart

October 15, 2021

Not everyone should be taking an Aspirin a day due to bleeding concerns.

Older adults without heart disease shouldn't take daily low-dose aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, an influential health guidelines group said in preliminary updated advice released Tuesday.

Bleeding risks for adults in their 60s and up who haven't had a heart attack or stroke outweigh any potential benefits from aspirin, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said in its draft guidance.

For the first time, the panel said there may be a small benefit for adults in their 40s who have no bleeding risks. For those in their 50s, the panel softened advice and said evidence of benefit is less clear.

The recommendations are meant for people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or other conditions that increase their chances for a heart attack or stroke. Regardless of age, adults should talk with their doctors about stopping or starting aspirin to make sure it's the right choice for them, said task force member Dr. John Wong, a primary-care expert at Tufts Medical Center.

"Aspirin use can cause serious harms, and risk increases with age,'' he said.

If finalized, the advice for older adults would backtrack on recommendations the panel issued in 2016 for helping prevent a first heart attack and stroke, but it would be in line with more recent guidelines from other medical groups.

Doctors have long recommended daily low-dose aspirin for many patients who already have had a heart attack or stroke. The task force guidance does not change that advice.

The task force previously said a daily aspirin might also protect against colorectal cancer for some adults in their 50s and 60s, but the updated guidance says more evidence of any benefit is needed.

The guidance was posted online to allow for public comments until Nov. 8. The group will evaluate that input and then make a final decision.

The independent panel of disease-prevention experts analyzes medical research and literature and issues periodic advice on measures to help keep Americans healthy. Newer studies and a re-analysis of older research prompted the updated advice, Wong said.

Aspirin is best known as a pain reliever but it is also a blood thinner that can reduce chances for blood clots. But aspirin also has risks, even at low doses — mainly bleeding in the digestive tract or ulcers, both of which can be life-threatening.

Dr. Lauren Block, an internist-researcher at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York, said the guidance is important because so many adults take aspirin even though they have never had a heart attack or stroke.

Block, who is not on the task force, recently switched one of her patients from aspirin to a cholesterol-lowering statin drug because of the potential harms.

The patient, 70-year-old Richard Schrafel, has high blood pressure and knows about his heart attack risks. Schrafel, president of a paperboard-distribution business, said he never had any ill effects from aspirin, but he is taking the new guidance seriously.

Rita Seefeldt, 63, also has high blood pressure and took a daily aspirin for about a decade until her doctor told her two years ago to stop.

"He said they changed their minds on that,'' recalled the retired elementary school teacher from Milwaukee. She said she understands that science evolves.

Wong acknowledged that the backtracking might leave some patients frustrated and wondering why scientists can't make up their minds.

"It's a fair question,'' he said. ''What's really important to know is that evidence changes over time.''

Source: NPR Miami|South Florida

The following statement reflects the views of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

According to the Association’s volunteer President Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., FAHA, “As detailed in the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association’s 2019 primary prevention recommendations, recent large trials indicate that, in the current environment, the overall benefit of aspirin is small -- in most adults the benefit of protection against heart attacks and strokes is offset by the potential risk of bleeding caused by aspirin. As a result, aspirin should be used rarely to help prevent heart attacks and stroke among adults ages 40-70 without known cardiovascular disease.

“These recommendations do not apply to people who have had a heart attack or stroke, or have a stent in an artery – those patients should remain on aspirin as prescribed by their doctor. But in adults without known cardiovascular disease, we continue to urge clinicians to be very selective when prescribing aspirin. Aspirin should be limited to only those adults at the highest risk for cardiovascular disease who also have a very low risk of bleeding.

Lloyd-Jones, also the chair of the department of preventive medicine and the Eileen M. Foell Professor of Heart Research and professor of preventive medicine, medicine and pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, stressed the importance of healthy choices for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, “Eating healthy foods and beverages, getting physical activity and not smoking are key. More than 80% of all cardiovascular events may be prevented by making lifestyle changes. The science continues to show that healthy lifestyle habits and effectively managing blood pressure and cholesterol, including with medications if needed, are the top ways to prevent a first heart attack or stroke – as opposed to taking aspirin daily.”

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Christopher 'Kid' Reid Reveals He Underwent Heart Transplant

February 12, 2026

Christopher "Kid" Reid, half of the hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play, is revealing he underwent a heart transplant, speaking about his health condition for the first time on " Good Morning America. " The rapper, who first gained fame in the 1980s and 1990s alongside collaborator Christopher "Play" Martin, spoke with "GMA" co-anchor Michael Strahan in a segment airing Thursday, sharing he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure after an emergency room visit last July. Reid said initially, he began experiencing fatigue and shortness of breath, which he said he attributed to getting older. "I think sometimes you kinda just chalk it up to, you know, 'I'm gettin' older,' you know, 'The road is harsh,'" he said. Eventually, when his symptoms intensified last summer, Reid said he visited an emergency room, where he received his diagnosis. Reid said he was first given medication to treat the condition, but at a three-week follow-up appointment, his cardiologist grew concerned. "He came in very swollen again, and that is a little unusual in somebody who's been started on treatment, for the swelling to come back that quickly," Erika Jones, Reid's cardiologist, told "GMA." That evening, instead of flying across the country for a performance as Reid had planned, Jones urged him to stay put and ran additional bloodwork. "The blood work confirmed my suspicion. It showed that his heart was failing, and it was starting to affect his other organs," Jones said. Reid said he received a call a few hours after his appointment, urging him to go to the emergency room, where he was rushed to the ICU. Reid was told by doctors that a heart transplant would be his only option, and he was placed on a transplant waitlist. Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Laura Dichiacchio, one of Reid's doctors, told "GMA" that Reid was placed on the transplant waiting list because it was "a kind of life or death situation." Dichiacchio described Reid as "warm" and "incredibly calm." Reid said eight days after being placed on the transplant waitlist, he received a call with the welcome news that he would get a new heart the following evening. Reid said he arrived for the surgery, and seven hours later, he had a new heart. Reid said he plans to cherish his second chance at life, saying, "This thing is ... a beautiful life. It's great. And, you know, I wanna be around for it." He added that he hoped to inspire others, particularly people of color, to put their health first and seek medical attention when things don't feel right. "A lot of times, we don't go because we don't want the bad news, or we too busy just hustlin', trying to make it from day to day," he said. "And we ... feel like we don't got time, or we'll get over it. Well, you might not." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S., about 6.7 million adults aged 20 or older have heart failure, a condition that happens "when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs in your body." The CDC cites hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease as common risk factors for the disease. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, heart failure is a serious condition that requires medical care. Treatment can include heart-healthy lifestyle changes such as lower sodium intake, regular physical activity, and limited alcohol consumption, as well as medication, devices such as a pacemaker, and heart surgery or transplant.