Aspirin Under-Prescribed to Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke

Newswise — The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) is urging health care providers to recognize that despite decades of evidence that aspirin can prevent heart attacks, some patients are still not receiving this simple and cost-effective therapy.

The newly revised "ASHP Therapeutic Position Statement on the Daily Use of Aspirin for Preventing Cardiovascular Events," published in the July 1, 2005, issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, affirms that daily use of aspirin, in combination with other effective drug therapies and modifying controllable risk factors, can prevent first and subsequent heart attacks.

"A daily aspirin is simple, inexpensive, and very effective, yet not all eligible patients are receiving this therapy," said ASHP President Jill E. Martin, Pharm.D., FASHP. "That means we are missing opportunities to help patients avoid the devastating effects of heart attacks."

The therapeutic position statement acknowledges the importance of assessing a patient's risk for bleeding, which can be a serious adverse effect of taking aspirin. "Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to help patients reduce their risk factors," said Martin. "The best way to reduce the chance of a heart attack is to combine aspirin therapy with changing controllable risk factors, such as obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure."

In an accompanying editorial, "Low-Dose Aspirin: Major Benefits, Minimal Cost," Steven Chen, Pharm.D., FASHP, CDM, points to "confusion among prescribers about how to identify appropriate candidates for daily low-dose aspirin." Chen urges health care professionals to develop systems in hospitals and health systems to better identify patients for which this therapy is indicated.

The article "ASHP Therapeutic Position Statement on the Daily Use of Aspirin for Preventing Cardiovascular Events," by Joseph J. Saseen, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS, can be retrieved online at http://www.ajhp.org/cgi/content/full/62/13/1398. The editorial, "Low-Dose Aspirin: Major Benefits, Minimal Cost," can be retrieved at http://www.ajhp.org/cgi/content/full/62/13/1357.

For more than 60 years, ASHP has helped pharmacists who practice in hospitals and health systems improve medication use and enhance patient safety. The Society's 30,000 members include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient, home-care, and long-term-care settings, as well as pharmacy students. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists help people make the best use of medicines, visit ASHP's Web site, http://www.ashp.org, or its consumer Web site, http://www.SafeMedication.com.