The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

For most people, taking a daily 81-mg aspirin to prevent stroke and heart attack is more risky than beneficial.

Aspirin has been in use as a pharmaceutical for over 150 years making it one of our oldest. One might assume with all this experience we would know exactly how to use it, but today’s recommendations are based on better evidence gained from better science.

Originally used to treat pain, aspirin evolved to become a cornerstone for cardiovascular protection after compelling research in the 1970s. By the 1980s, it was recommended that almost anyone, over the age of 50, take an 81-...