Aspirin's disaster-in'

[Guest guest]

" WC Douglass " <realhealth

Daily Dose - Aspirin's disaster-in'

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 07:30:00 -0500

Daily Dose

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January 17, 2006

 

The OTHER killer painkillers, Part 2

 

Remember a couple of years ago, when an aspirin a day was thought to

be a heart tonic? Popping a " harmless " white pill each day for thinner

blood and a healthier heart was all the rage, and many doctors still

recommend it. Not this one, though...

 

In fact, more than 2 years ago (Daily Dose, 4/29/03), I sounded the

alarm about the deadly risks of " aspirin therapy, " citing a University

of Maryland Medical Center study in which blood platelet clumping -

which can lead to heart attacks - was noted in 64% of daily

aspirin-takers whose blood cholesterol levels were considered by

modern medical standards as too high (LDL over 130, which leaves out

relatively few Americans.)

 

To recap, my angle in that earlier Daily Dose piece was that if this

University of Maryland study is correct, a daily aspirin INCREASES the

risk of coronary events in people with healthy (and normal) LDL

cholesterol levels of 180, 200, or more.

 

Yes, you read that right: In case you didn't already know this, I've

long maintained - obviously, in sharp divergence with the mainstream -

that anyone with an LDL cholesterol number LOWER than 200 risks

serious heart problems. In fact, I don't caution anyone to worry about

cholesterol at all until their LDL hits 300 or more. (Doctors should

look for the real cause of the problem and stop chasing the

cholesterol level. Cholesterol is a marker, and a protective

mechanism, not a disease.)

 

As if this isn't bad enough news for those who've been duped by their

doctors or the media into taking an aspirin every day for their

tickers, consider this: As dangerous as this evidence suggests it is

for most Americans with normal blood cholesterol to take aspirin every

day, a newer study points to an immediate and grave risk of STOPPING

aspirin therapy once you've begun.

 

According to a May 2004 study rolled out to the American College of

Chest Physicians, people who STOP taking daily aspirin once they've

been doing it for a while risk serious heart problems at an alarmingly

high rate. The research analyzed the medical records of 1,236 people

hospitalized for heart attacks and other acute coronary events. Their

findings: That more than 10% of people taking daily aspirin for heart

reasons were hospitalized within one week of stopping the therapy. The

patient's likely interpretation: " Gee, the aspirin was protecting me;

I shouldn't have quit. " However...NONE of these patients had been

hospitalized for heart-related events before they stopped taking their

daily aspirin. Keep reading...

 

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Caught in a Killer Catch-22

 

What's all this mean?

 

It means you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, basically.

If you take daily aspirin for heart health and your cholesterol's

anywhere near the modern American norm, you could be risking a heart

attack. And if you stop, you could as well.

 

It doesn't seem too fair, does it? Just like a lot of things in

mainstream medicine.

 

Seriously, folks, I don't know what to tell you here. If you are

unfortunate enough to be one of the millions of Americans taking a

daily aspirin for heart health on the advice of your doctor, I think

you should ask him about ways to safely wean yourself off the

blood-thinner without shocking your system into a heart attack.

 

And from now on, only take ANY painkillers - aspirin, acetaminophen,

Cox-2s, whatever - when you NEED them. Never forget that these are

powerful drugs, and should be treated with respect and not overused

(or overdosed on).

 

Loaded for Bayer and shootin' you square,

 

William Campbell Douglass II, MD