People who have diabetes are three times more likely to experience a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or clot-related stroke, than people of the same age and sex who do not have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aspirin therapy might decrease the risk of cardiovascular problems, according to a joint statement released in May 2010 by the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
Benefits
While the role of aspirin in decreasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes is not well-understood, the ADA explains that aspirin may help prevent red blood cells from clumping together, which seems to happen more readily in people with diabetes. Clumped blood cells can block or narrow a blood vessel, leading to a heart attack or stroke. Talk to your doctor before taking aspirin to achieve these effects to determine if low-dose aspirin therapy is right for you.
Risks
Aspirin might irritate the lining of your stomach, leading to pain, vomiting, nausea or bleeding. The ADA says people who are allergic to aspirin or under 21 years of age should avoid aspirin. Others who should avoid aspirin include those who have active liver disease, a tendency to bleed or recent bleeding in their digestive tracts.
Recommendations
At a certain age and assuming certain risk factors, the downsides of aspirin treatment are worth the risks. For example, 68 percent of patients with diabetes who are older than 65 die from coronary heart disease and 16 percent of diabetics older than 65 die from stroke, according to the ADA. According to the 2010 joint statement, "Low-dose aspirin therapy is recommended for most men over age 50 and women over 60 with diabetes who have one or more additional heart-disease risk factors," such as high blood pressure or a previous history of heart problems.
Warning
Men under 50 and women under 60 with diabetes who do not have major additional heart risk factors should not engage in low-dose aspirin therapy, according to the 2010 joint statement. For these people, the downsides of aspirin therapy outweigh the risk of dangerous or deadly cardiovascular events.
