Daily Low-Dose Aspirin No Longer Recommended as Heart Attack Preventative for Older Adults

New guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association no longer recommend daily low-dose aspirin as a preventative for older adults who lack a high risk for existing heart disease, reports CNN . "For the most part, we are now much better at treating risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and especially high cholesterol," said North Carolina cardiologist Kevin Campbell. "This makes the biggest difference, probably negating any previously perceived aspirin benefit in primary prevention." Physicians may consider aspirin for certain older high-risk adults, including those who have problems lowering their cholesterol or managing blood sugars, provided there is no elevated risk for internal bleeding. "Clinicians should be very selective in prescribing aspirin for people without known cardiovascular disease," advised John Hopkins cardiologist Roger Blumenthal. "It's much more important to optimize lifestyle habits and control blood pressure and cholesterol as opposed to recommending aspirin." Three recent studies determined daily low-dose aspirin may raise the risk of internal bleeding and early death among older adults.