Taking aspirin to lower your risk of heart attack. (What You Need To Know).If you are at risk for a heart attack, taking aspirin every day or every other day can lower your risk. How Do I Know if I Am At Higher Risk for A Heart Attack? You may be at higher risk for a heart attack if you can say yes to any of the following: * I am a man over 40. * I am a woman past menopause menopause (mĕn`əpôz) or climacteric (klīmăk`tərĭk, klī'măktĕr`ĭk) . * I smoke. * I have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol Cholesterol, High Definition Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in animal tissue and is an important component to the human body. It is manufactured in the liver and carried throughout the body in the bloodstream. , or a family history of heart disease. If you answered "Yes" to any of these, talk to your doctor or nurse about whether taking aspirin is right for you. Is Aspirin Safe? For most people, taking aspirin is safe. But for some people, aspirin can increase the chance of bleeding in the stomach or intestines and may cause a small increase in some kinds of stroke. For that reason, taking aspirin is not the right choice for everyone. The higher your risk of heart disease, the more you have to gain by taking aspirin. What Should I Do? Ask your doctor or nurse about taking aspirin. They can help you decide: * Whether to take aspirin. * What kind to take. * How much to take. * How often to take it. Background The What You Need To Know series provides recommendations for the public on staying healthy from AHRQ AHRQ, n.pr See Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. . The recommendations are based on the work-of the U.S. Preventive Services the duty performed by the armed police in guarding the coast against smuggling. See also: Preventive Task Force (USPSTF USPSTF US Preventive Services Task Force ), sponsored by AHRQ. The USPSTF is an independent panel of experts in the fields of family medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, nursing, prevention research, and psychology. The Task Force reviews, research on a wide range of preventive services, including screening, counseling, and using medications to prevent disease, then makes recommendations for the public. This fact sheet is part of Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP PPIP Put Prevention Into Practice PPIP Provincial Parental Insurance Plan (Canada) PPIP Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme PPIP Program Protection Implementation Plan PPIP Private Practice in Pennsylvania (Yahoo! group) ), a national program sponsored by AHRQ to increase the delivery of USPSTF-recommended clinical preventive services clinical preventive service Managed care A health care service delivered in clinical settings for the purpose of preventing the onset or progression of a health condition or illness in the primary care setting. Select for more information about PPIP and PPIP tools. For More Information To order more copies of this fact sheet or other PPIP material for patients, clinicians, or office systems, call the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse: Phone: 1-800-358-9295 Outside the United States: (410) 381-3150 Toll-free TDD service; hearing impaired only: 888-586-6340 Current as of January 2002 Internet citation: What You Need To Know: Taking Aspirin to Lower Your Risk of Heart Attack. Fact Sheet. January 2002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, n.pr formerly known as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, this agency researches the quality of medical care and health services. , Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/aspneed2.htm |
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