Men benefit most from aspirin
The protective effects of aspirin on the heart and arteries are mainly experienced by men, according to new Canadian research.
Daily aspirin has become a standard treatment for warding off heart attacks but the drug’s benefits vary widely between clinical trials.
Some trials show no difference between aspirin and a placebo, while others suggest that aspirin reduces the risk of a heart attack by 50%.
In the new study, doctors examined the results of 23 previously published clinical trials involving more than 113,000 patients. They then analysed how much the ratio of men to women patients affected the trial outcomes. Dr Don Sin, a member of the team from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, said: “Trials that recruited predominantly men demonstrated the largest risk reduction in non-fatal heart attacks. The trials that contained predominantly women failed to demonstrate a significant risk reduction in these non-fatal events.
Recent studies have shown that men and women have major differences in the structure and physiology of the heart’s blood vessels. The authors believe these factors may be responsible for the greater protection men get from aspirin.
