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An advisory panel of leading physicians no longer recommends daily low-dose aspirin for the prevention of heart attacks in adults age 60 and older, the group announced Tuesday.
The decision is based on
new research suggesting that the net benefits of daily aspirin use in this age group are small, the panel, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, said in an article published Tuesday by
JAMA.
However, for younger adults ages 40 to 59 years who have a greater than 10% risk for developing heart disease over the next decade of their lives -- and are at low risk for bleeding-related side effects associated with aspirin use -- the decision should be made on an individual bases, the group said.
In addition, the task force has concluded that
existing evidence is unclear as to whether aspirin use reduces a person's risk for colon and rectal cancers, or for dying from tumors in these organs, it said.
"Based on current evidence, the task force recommends against people 60 and older starting to take aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke," Dr. Michael Barry, task force vice chair, said in a press release.
"Because the chance of internal bleeding increases with age, the potential harms of aspirin use cancel out the benefits in this age group," said Barry, director of the Informed Medical Decisions Program in the Health Decision Sciences Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
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