Two aspirin a day could increase the risk of suffering an embolism.

Two Aspirins a Day Could Increase Risk

For many years, pharmaceutical and medical industries have recommended daily aspirin intake as a way to prevent the risk of having a stroke.

However, a study published in September 1999 in the journal Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association found that taking more than 15 aspirins a week (which is considered a “high dose” by researchers) doubles the risk of developing a hemorrhagic stroke caused by a brain hemorrhage.

Ischemic stroke, the most common form of stroke, occurs when blood clots or other clots in the arteries restrict blood flow to the brain.

Hemorrhagic strokes occur when one or more blood vessels in the brain break and bleed, and the risk of death is higher than in ischemic strokes.

“This is the first large-scale detailed study on the relationship between aspirin use and the risk of the major types of stroke,” explained lead author Joann E. Manson, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Researchers examined aspirin use and the risk of suffering a stroke in 79,319 healthy women aged 34 to 59 years, and followed the participants over a period of 14 years. From 1980 to 1994, during which 295 ischemic strokes and 100 hemorrhagic strokes were recorded.

Dr. Manson noted that while some past research had suggested that it was proven that regularly taking small doses of aspirin by individuals who had previously suffered a heart attack or stroke could help prevent recurrence.

The medical debate continues over whether healthy people without a history of cardiovascular problems should take aspirin routinely to prevent the first occurrence of a heart attack or stroke.

Those women who took more than 15 aspirins a week were twice as likely to suffer a hemorrhagic stroke. The risk of hemorrhagic strokes has tripled in older women with high blood pressure who took more than 15 aspirins a week compared to women who did not take aspirin or who simply took a lower dose.

“This study indicates that it could be both a positive and negative situation regarding the main source of prevention of stroke or heart attack,” said Manson.

“If taking small doses of aspirin reduces the risk of suffering an ischemic stroke in healthy individuals, it is very important information, as it is the most common type of stroke. But on the other hand, our findings suggest that taking high doses of aspirin could be dangerous.”

SOURCES: American Heart Association News Release, September 2, 1999.

Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, Sept. 1999.
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