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Medical Pearls from the Internet Medical Association


This study of over 68 000 people found that just over 10% were on aspirin inappropriately. The authors state that if the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease is 5% or less, then aspirin is not indicated for primary prevention.

Comment: This study only looked at aspirin from a cardiovascular standpoint, and did not recognize that aspirin also can be given for the primary prevention (or early detection) of some cancers. Aspirin does not only benefit the cardiovascular system, it also appears to have important effects on decreasing the risk of fatal malignancies. More research is clearly needed, however, this study comes to an erroneous conclusion because it did not address the possible beneficial effects of aspirin on cancer prevention.



J Am Coll Cardiol. 2015 Jan 20;65(2):111-21    (retrieved Jan, 2015). There are currently 1090 pearls in the database. While every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy, mistakes can and do occur. Use databank at your own risk. All pearls © 2024 by the Internet Medical Association. Click Here to view more medical pearls.