Aspirin May Prevent Heart Attacks in Women

According to a recent study conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers, women who take small amounts of aspirin regularly may reduce their risk of heart attack.

A study of 87, 678 female nurses between the ages of 34 and 59 came to a similar conclusion as a 1988 study of men by the same research team, although the results were not as definitive, according to a recent article in The New York Times.

Instructor in Medicine JoAnn E. Manson '75 announced the results of the study, which were that nurses who took one to six aspirins a week experienced a 30 percent drop in the risk of a first heart attack.

The 1988 study of men, which was led by Charles H. Hennekens, associate professor of preventative medicine and clinical epidemiology at the Medical School, had found that men who take aspirin every other day cut their risk of a first heart attack nearly in half.

One reason for the discrepancy in results between the two studies could be that in the study of men, 11,000 healthy doctors took aspirin every other day, and 11,000 more were given a placebo.

In Manson's study, the nurses only took aspirin by choice, when they had headaches, arthritis or muscular pain.

In both of the studies, the greatest benefit from the aspirin was apparent in people over 50. Aspirin is believed to help prevent heart attacks by inhibiting blood clots, The Times reported.

About five years from now, the effects of aspirin on women over 50 may be better understood. Hennekens has recently received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the benefits of low doses of aspirin on 40,000 female nurses in that age category.