Risks of using aspirin differ by gender

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 17 (UPI) -- Aspirin used to prevent heart attacks or strokes may have different benefits and downsides in men and women, a U.S. task force said.

The new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- an independent panel of experts -- do not apply to people who have already had a heart attack or stroke.

The recommendations, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, said patients and clinicians should consider risk factors -- including age, gender, diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking and risk of gastrointestinal bleeding -- before deciding whether to use aspirin.

The task force reviewed evidence from the National Institutes of Health's Women's Health Study published since the last task force review of the topic in 2002.

The task force found evidence that aspirin decreases first heart attacks in men and first strokes in women. The more risk factors people have, the more likely they are to benefit from aspirin, the recommendations said.

The task force recommends that men ages 45-79 should use aspirin to reduce their risk for heart attacks when the benefits outweigh the harms for potential gastrointestinal bleeding. Women ages 55-79 should use aspirin to reduce their risk for ischemic stroke when the benefits outweigh the harms for potential gastrointestinal bleeding, the report said.