Tag Archives: primary prevention

President Trump’s Aspirin Treatment

The recent reports regarding President Trump’s swollen ankles and hand bruising mentioned that he is taking aspirin. His press secretary said, “This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”  This statement may have been true 10…


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Low-Dose Aspirin and the Risk of Stroke

Low-Dose Aspirin and the Risk of Stroke and Intracerebral Bleeding in Healthy Older People – Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial is a study just published in the JAMA. It demonstrates another reason why low dose aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is harmful rather than therapeutic. The study found a significant…


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Statin Therapy in the Elderly and Quality vs Cost

The JAMA published a study online which examines the Effect of Statin Treatment vs Usual Care on Primary CV Prevention Among Older Adults. The full paper is below as a pdf file. I’ve written about the overuse of this type of cholesterol lowering drugs in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease several  times. Primary prevention…


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Statins For the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

The use of statins (drugs which lower blood cholesterol) for the primary prevention of CV disease has been controversial since the drugs became available almost 30 years ago. Primary prevention is the prevention of a disease which the patient does not have, eg a stroke or a heart attack. Secondary prevention is the prevention of…


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