Should I Take Aspirin?

Nobody ever told me to take aspirin. I mean, none of my health providers ever did, even in spite of all the evidence I've read over the last two decades, about how it seriously prevents heart disease and heart attacks.

I took it by myself, buying it over the counter, for about six months -- this was about 5 years ago -- but stopped because, well, it's one more pill to take. I take enough pills, thank you, without throwing another one in.

But, suddenly, last month my doctor asked me if I was taking it. No, I replied. She said, "You should. And with this new medication I'm prescribing for you, you'll want to. The aspirin reduces the flush effect of the med." The medication is Niaspan, and apparently, a large percentage of users report heavy flushing of the face as a side effect. (As it turns out, I never encountered that side effect even though I'm still taking Niaspan.)

So, thirty minutes before I take the rest of my nighttime pills (including the orange Niaspan tablet), I take the low-level aspirin (81 mg), otherwise known as "baby aspirin."

Parade magazine (parade.com) had an article on "Should Women Take Aspirin" last Sunday (February 1, 2009). "While aspirin seems to be a kind of wonder drug when it comes to reducing the risk of heart attacks in men, it doesn't deliver quite the same protection for women. Low doses do reduce the risk of stroke in healthy women, but a 2006 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed the aspirin does not reduce women's risk of heart attack."

The article goes on to say that specific women should take aspirin each day: those over 65 who are healthy, and all women over 45 with cardiovascular disease risk factors.

And the reason is an eye-opener: "Despite the findings on heart attacks, a 2007 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine of women taking aspirin reported a 25% reduction in death from all causes," including a "38% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease." In particular, "women with high-risk factors (such as smoking, being overweight, or having high cholesterol) experienced the greatest effect."

Good enough for me. Add a baby aspirin to my list of nighttime medications.