EULALEE THOMPSON
So you feel a pain in your chest, you are thinking twice about the 'gas cramps theory', because the strong brew of mint or ginger tea didn't work, and you are thinking this could be more serious, like perhaps a heart attack and you are heading for the emergency room.
What can you do on the way to the emergency room? Reach for the aspirin bottle ...
"CHEW AN aspirin. It is the best you can do because you don't actually know that it is a heart attack," said Dr. Hafeezul Mohammed, consultant cardiologist.
But, don't be too quick to reach for the aspirin bottle, as Dr. Mohammed said that this course of action would most likely be the recommendation for people with chest pains in high-risk groups for heart disease (and heart attacks), such as persons with diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, as well as those who smoke and are obese.
Any regular, uncoated adult-dose aspirin will do. Aspirin apparently acts by fighting harmful blood clots that will suddenly block a part of the heart's blood supply, initiating a heart attack (myocardial infarction). Clots blocking blood supply to the brain are linked to most strokes and aspirin is reported to be useful in treating those clots as well. Aspirin reportedly makes it harder for these clots to form and reduces the chances of the re-clogging of vessels after bypass surgery and angioplasty.
Studies show that aspirin therapy reduces the risk of a repeat heart attack, especially among groups of persons living with cardiac-related ailments - diabetes, angina (chest pain), arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), previous stroke, or peripheral artery disease.
RISK VERSUS BENEFITS
A study published in the January 12, 2002 issue of the British Journal of Medicine, also indicated that aspirin therapy can assist in preventing heart attack in patients who had not had a previous event.
The study generally found that patients who had been put on any kind of antiplatelet medication, including aspirin, had an overall 25 per cent reduced risk of a serious vascular event compared with patients who did not receive such treatment. The researchers in that study believe that the known risk of internal bleeding associated with antiplatelet medication was clearly outweighed by the benefits of therapy.
But, Dr. Mohammed said that any recommendation for using aspirin therapy for heart attacks and strokes would require a risk/benefit analysis.
IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT
"Usually, regularly taking aspirins to stave off heart disease is not recommended, as you can have stomach bleeds. There is no completely safe drug, we have to weigh the risks and benefits. If you are a 20-year-old, then maybe the risks would outweigh the benefits versus a 70-year-old, who had a previous heart attack ... then maybe in (the latter case) the benefits of aspirin use outweighs the risks," he said.
Dr. Mohammed stressed that most people with chest pains are not experiencing a heart attack.
"Medicine is like detective work, the context is important and we have to look at the risk factors including age groups. For example, a 20-year-old with chest pains is hardly likely to be suffering heart disease, compared to a 70-year-old diabetic with chest pains ... so the context is important," he said.
You can send your comments to eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.
