Safety in the use of Aspirin to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease

Authors

Edward Williams MPAS,PA-C, Virginia University of LynchburgFollow

Specialty

Family Medicine

Advisor

Dr. Laura Witte, PhD, PA-C

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review the safety in the use of aspirin as primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Method: A PubMed literature search was conducted with search terms aspirin, primary prevention, cardiovascular disease, not diabetes, within the past five years, with 2,729 results. A second search with the previous terms used with the addition of safety returning 182 results. Ten pertinent articles were retrieved and used as the basis for this clinical review.

Results: Research suggests that the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events (CVE) has a high risk of upper gastrointestinal bleed versus benefit.

Conclusion: Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or Aspirin is one of the most widely used drugs worldwide, with significant clinical evidence demonstrating its analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the use of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has a high risk to benefit ratio when compared to the use of aspirin for secondary prevention of CVD.

Keywords: Aspirin, Primary Prevention, Cardiovascular Disease, Safety

Recommended Citation

Williams E. Safety in the use of Aspirin to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease. University of Lynchburg DMSc Doctoral Project Assignment Repository. 2021; 4(1).