An Aspirin A Day

My dad is a gasteroenterologist. And I know this might be shocking: we talk medicine a lot in our family. He passed this op-ed piece along to me this morning. It summarizes the past , present, and future uses of aspirin to improve our health, and maybe--just maybe--improve our nation's economy.

I hapen to like this article, not only because it introduces a potentially beneficial strategy for reducing the amount of healthcare utilization across the country, but also because it is just good science. People live healthier lives with fewer medical compromises or events over their lifetimes when using aspirin.
 
I have to admit I am surprised by the studies that illustrate the anti-cancer effects of aspirin. I know aspirin can suppress some of the biophysical processes of cancer cells, but the summary depicted a much greater benefit than I thought. 

Anecdotally, I see about 50% of my patients using daily aspirin. My patients ask if it is good to stop using aspirin before they come for an appointment. As a general rule, I do not want my patients to stop using aspiring before they come to see me.  The risks of NOT using aspirin are higher for them than the risks of continuing to take it. .I do not have any trouble with my patients bleeding during procedure. It's true that all aspirin users have a lesser ability to clot when bleeding.  But we routinely use lasers and other equipment to prevent bleeding.