New Guidelines on Heart Health: Not Everyone Should Take a Low-Dose Aspirin

New guidelines recommend against taking daily low-dose aspirin to prevent strokes and heart attacks in healthy, older adults.
The age-old approach is no longer recommended for older adults who do not have a high risk of heart disease — or who already have it.
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association announced the new guidelines Sunday.
The guidelines say doctors may consider aspirin for certain older high-risk patients–including those having trouble lowering their cholesterol or managing blood sugar.
That’s as long as there is no increased risk for internal bleeding.
A co-chair of the new guidelines said, “It’s much more important to optimize lifestyle habits and control blood pressure and cholesterol as opposed to recommending aspirin.”
But for anyone who’s had a stroke, heart attack, open-heart surgery or stents inserted to open clogged arteries — aspirin can save their life.
Some of the key lifestyle recommendations include:
— Eating heart healthier – choosing more vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and fish, and limiting salt, saturated fats, fried foods, processed meats, and sweetened beverages; specific eating plans like the Mediterranean, DASH and vegetarian diets are reviewed.
— Engaging in regular exercise – experts advise aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercises such as brisk walking, swimming, dancing or cycling each week. For people who are inactive, some activity is better than none and small 10-minute bursts of activity throughout the day can add up for those with hectic schedules. Currently, only half of American adults are getting enough exercise and prolonged periods of sitting can counteract the benefits of exercise.
— Aiming for and keeping a healthy weight – for people who are overweight or obese, losing just 5 to 10 percent of their body weight (that would be 10-20 pounds for someone who weighs 200 pounds) can markedly cut their risk of heart disease, stroke and other health issues.
— Avoiding tobacco by not smoking, vaping or breathing in smoke – 1 in 3 deaths from heart disease is attributable to smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, so every effort to try to quit through counseling and/or approved cessation medications should be supported and tailored to each individual.