Aspirin must be taken right away following a heart attack because it lowers the chance of having another heart attack or stroke by preventing blood clots from forming.
However, the prognosis following myocardial infarction has improved and the long-term effects of aspirin are now less obvious since treatment and diagnostic techniques have developed recently. Aspirin raises the risk of bleeding because it decreases blood clot formation, and as time passes after a heart attack, the ratio of cardiovascular advantages to bleeding risks shifts.
This study assessed the risks of stopping long-term aspirin use after a heart attack to those of continuing use in a modern context.
The study used data from Danish nationwide health registries. It included patients aged 40 years and over who had a first-time heart attack from 2004 through 2017, were treated with a coronary stent and took aspirin as prescribed during the first year after their heart attack.
Patients who were on anticoagulants or had a stroke or recurrent heart attack within that first year were excluded.
