September 2003
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Aspirin - for your health
At the recent meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Vienna, a young Danish researcher named Tina Poulsen, MD, PhD, from Odense University Hospital discussed her study that seemed to indicate aspirin “resistance.”
It was a new take on an old drug that, in its current form, spans three centuries or more. Some historians actually link aspirin to the bark and leaves of the willow tree (which contains salicin) which Hippocrates prescribed as treatment to relieve pain and fever in about 200 B.C. Willow leaves were mentioned in the writings of other healers as the centuries progressed.
However, in the 1830s, a German chemist refined salicin into salicylic acid and later it is further refined to add an acetyl group to it, resulting in acetylsalicylic acid – aspirin. By 1899, Bayer (which began life as a dye-making company) was distributing aspirin worldwide, and, in 1900, the medication was distributed in pill form. In 1915, aspirin – a potent pain-reliever and fever reducer – became available in the United States without a prescription.
I know that was a boon for people such as my great-grandfather who suffered from gout most of his life. Aspirin was the only pain reliever available to him. However, lowering fever and pain relief were only the beginning for this remarkable medicine.
If you read the FDA website, you realize that aspirin can be used as a preventive agent in heart disease and stroke – but only under the supervision of a physician, who will advise you about when and how much to take.
It can be used to reduce the risk of death in patients with suspected heart attacks. It can also be taken to prevent second or subsequent heart attacks in people who have already had at least one. It can be used to treat mini-strokes called transient ischemic attacks or TIAs. These strokes are caused when blood flow to parts of the brain is blocked. Aspirin is also used to treat patients who have undergone a treatment called balloon angioplasty to remove blockages in the coronary arteries that nourish the heart muscle itself. It is also used in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting operations. Aspirin is also used in the treatment of rheumatology disorders, including various arthritis conditions.
The warning that aspirin should be taken for these conditions only on the advice of a physician is an attempt to avoid dangerous side effects. The decision that a person should take aspirin on a regular basis can be made only after that person’s symptoms and medical history are carefully evaluated. Aspirin can cause bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract and can interact with other drugs. Just because it can be bought without a prescription does not mean it should be taken lightly. It is a powerful medicine.
Years ago, I was briefing my editors on what would be coming up on the medical beat during my maternity leave. I gave them a list of dates, press conferences, studies and meetings.
“What do we do if someone walks in with a cure? How will we know if it is real?” one editor asked, tongue-in-cheek.
“If he says it cures more than five things – and it’s not aspirin or penicillin – then it can wait until I get back,” I told him.
| A Matter of Health | |
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Aspirin - for your health |