Body Boost: AM Aspirin to Reduce Heart Attack and Stroke?

Time for another Body Boost!

Today we’d like to address a universal health concern for both men and women. It’s heart health. There are many things that differentiate the way men and women experience heart attacks and heart disease, but there are some universal factors as well. One of the most simple universal preventatives is this: aspirin.

Aspirin has long been touted as a medicine that can save lives. Individuals, doctors and hospitals use it both as preventative care as well as treatment for heart episodes. But a recent study analyzed whether when that pill is taken makes a potential difference in heart attack prevention.

Strange? Not as much as it sounds. In the mornings, the blood cells that aid clotting are at their most active. Mornings are “peak hours” for heart attacks and strokes – in fact cardiovascular events likes these are 3 times more likely to occur in the morning.  In a recently released report, taking aspirin in the evening improved the effect of aspirin on morning platelet activity better than an aspirin in the morning. Further study is needed and underway to determine if taking that aspirin in the evening will cut down on morning heart attack and strokes.

Talk with your doctor about whether you should be on a daily aspirin regimen to help prevent cardiovascular issues – and stay tuned, as we may soon be advising to take that aspirin in the evening.

Image credit: Aspirin macro shot by Sauligno via Wikimedia Commons Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Originally published 11/21/13 on mammographykc.com.