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news.Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center have evaluated the use of aspirin, an over-the-counter drug, for primary cardiovascular disease prevention.
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Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center cardiologist Virani said: "Since aspirin is an over-the-counter drug, it is quite possible that some of this inappropriate use could be related to patients taking it on their own without a doctor’s prescription."
A nationwide sample of patients receiving aspirin was reviewed and found that one in ten received inappropriate aspirin therapy.
Patient data from the National Cardiovascular Disease Registry Practice Innovation and Clinical Excellence (PINNACLE) Registry was reviewed. It included examining a sample of more than 68,000 patients receiving aspirin for primary cardiovascular disease prevention between 2008 and 2013.
Of those being treated inappropriately, nearly 17% and 5% were women and men respectively.
Baylor assistant professor of medicine and senior author on the study Dr Salim Virani said: "We found that more than 10% of patients being treated with aspirin for primary prevention method had a 10-year risk factor of less than 6%."