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For Immediate Release
February 7, 2002
(Washington, DC) - The Aspirin Foundation of America (AFA) today welcomed new research that found that aspirin is just as effective individually as it is in combination with warfarin to reduce the risk of recurrent heart attack and stroke.
The research was conducted by a team led by researchers at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System and was published in the Feb. 5 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study involved more than 5,000 heart attack patients. All subjects took low-dose aspirin daily following their heart attack and half also took low-dose warfarin daily. An average of three years of follow-up showed death rates that were virtually indistinguishable.
Previous research has shown aspirin to be as effective as warfarin when taken singly in preventing recurrent ischemic stroke.
Additionally, aspirin therapy does not require patients' monitoring by blood tests as warfarin does.
"This new research is further confirmatory evidence of aspirin's health benefits. Time and again aspirin therapy has been proven to be an effective means of preventing recurrence of heart attack and stroke," said AFA president Thomas Bryant, MD. "It is also one of the most inexpensive means of doing so," he said, noting that a year's supply of aspirin is far less costly than prescription drugs for the same indications.
The AFA advises individuals considering aspirin for preventative therapy to
consult with their physicians.
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Contact:
Caroline Perrin
807 National Press Building, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 800-432-3247 Fax: 202/737-8406
info@aspirin.org
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