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IN THE NEWS...

"Every year, about 1 million Americans suffer heart attacks..."

"Cardiovascular disease claims one life every 33 seconds."

"It turns out that there are many people whose high level of risk has not been recognized before."

"Research shows that taking an aspirin when symptoms start significantly improves chances of survival for people having a heart attack."

"The National Center for Health Statistics reports that heart disease is responsible for some 725,000 deaths annually in the United States - more than all forms of cancer combined."

"...With a heart attack, minutes mean muscle.  The longer you wait, the more muscle is damaged."
 

Aspirin has since been used extensively as a pain reliever.  Studies starting in the 1970s have shown that aspirin offers benefits in a number of other areas, such as protecting the heart, protecting against various forms of cancer, and helping prevent other serious medical conditions.  The chemical term for aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid.  The way in which aspirin relieved pain was a mystery for many years until 1971 when Dr. John Vane, a British pharmacologist, determined that it worked by inhibiting certain chemicals in the body involved in pain and inflammation.  He won a Nobel Prize for this work in 1982.

In 1988 a land mark paper showed that aspirin reduced the risk of heart attacks in men by 44%.  Heart Disease is, by far, the number one killer of not only men, but also of women. A lingering myth exists that heart disease is a man’s disease.  It is not just a man’s disease!  One out of every two women will die from heart disease.  Heart disease kills ten times more women than breast cancer and more than all other cancers combined.  Heart disease is the single leading cause of death in American women, killing more than breast cancer, stroke, and lung cancer combined.  Nearly two thirds of women who die suddenly from heart attacks have no warning signs.  Most people in our country will die from heart disease.  Every year 1.1 million Americans will suffer a heart attack, and one third of them will not survive that heart attack.  One American dies from a heart attack about every minute.  Many people at risk for heart attacks are not aware that they are at risk.  While heart attacks primarily occur in older people, they also occur in younger people.  In fact, the rate of heart attacks and ensuing deaths in young adults with no symptoms has soared in the last ten years.  Three thousand people between the ages of 15 and 34 die from cardiac arrest each year.  Millions of people are at risk of heart attacks.  Aspirin may help save your life in the event you have a heart attack.

In 1998 the FDA advised people having a heart attack to take aspirin.  Clinical studies found that aspirin reduced the chances of death from a heart attack by 25%.  Thus, taking aspirin upon having a heart attack significantly increases the chances of surviving a heart attack.  Of course, taking aspirin during a heart attack does not guarantee survival, but will increase the odds significantly.  Fast action is needed upon having a heart attack.  Time is critical during a heart attack.  Minutes mean muscle.  The longer one waits, the more heart muscle is damaged.  Seconds count.  Many people wait too long to obtain help.  Emergency room physicians recommend that people keep aspirin handy at all times to increase survival rates in case of a heart attack.  Experts estimate the use of aspirin for heart attack first aid could save 10,000 lives each year.  Experts recommend that people talk to their doctor before hand about taking aspirin in the event of a heart attack.

The American Heart Association recommends the emergency use of aspirin without delay during heart attacks.  Health Canada also approved the use of aspirin during a suspected heart attack to reduce the risk of death by up to 25%.

Taking aspirin during a heart attack inhibits blood clotting, thereby helping maintain blood flow through a narrowed artery.  Chewing aspirin, as opposed to merely swallowing, speeds absorption at a time when minutes count.

In some people Aspirin does have side effects, some significant.  About 1% of people who take aspirin on a regular basis will suffer gastrointestinal bleeding.  Others are allergic to aspirin.  Hence the recommendation to talk to one’s physician about taking aspirin during a suspected heart attack before having a heart attack.

Copyright 2003.  Patent Pending.  All Rights Reserved.