Does aspirin prevent heart attacks? Don't believe it!

The drug companies that make and market aspirin have tried hard to convince people that "an aspirin a day keeps the heart attack away."

But, another study has come along to blast a hole in that myth. According to British researchers, the daily aspirin regimen might actually do more harm than good.

Researchers at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London identified more than 5,000 U.K. males, between 45 and 69 years-old, who were at increased risk of coronary heart disease but had not previously had heart trouble.

The men had been randomly divided into four different treatment groups to accurately establish the effect of aspirin.

The men with higher blood pressure not only weren't protected by the aspirin, but they risked possible serious bleeding. Even in men with low blood pressure, the benefit did not necessarily outweigh the risk of bleeding.

In 1988, a research study found that some high risk men who took daily aspirin had fewer heart attacks -- but more strokes. Even the researchers never recommended the once-a-day aspirin regimen.

However, the pharmaceutical industry immediately began a massive press release campaign which distorted the research report. The press releases gave the impression that the daily aspirin was a sure-fire way to prevent heart attacks. The news was picked up by most newspapers and even medical doctors began "prescribing" aspirin as a preventative measure.

Thanks in part to this deceptive marketing campaign, Americans now take more than 25 million aspirin tablets every day, despite the fact that:

1,600 children die each year from allergic reactions to aspirin;

patients with blockage of arteries to the brain are three times more likely to have a stroke if they are taking aspirin;

dyspepsia and gastrointestinal hemorrhage occur in 31% of those taking 300 mgs. of aspirin per day;

even low doses of aspirin can increase the risk of brain hemorrhage; and

other side effects can include anemia, bleeding ulcers, confusion and dizziness and numerous other problems.

SOURCES: "Determination of who may derive most benefit from aspirin in primary prevention: subgroup results from a randomised controlled trial," British Medical Journal, July 1, 2000.

"FDA warns aspirin makers." Science News, March 12, 1988 v133 n11 p165(1).

"The preliminary report of the findings of the aspirin component of the ongoing Physicians' Health Study; the FDA perspective on aspirin for the primary prevention of myocardial infarction." Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) June 3, 1988 v259 n21 p3158(3).

"Don't jump the gun with aspirin; there are surer ways to help prevent (heart attacks), ones that don't increase stroke risk," Medical World News, May 23, 1988 v29 n10 p50(1).

"High-risk pain pills: though their use is regulated, many common pain remedies can be dangerous, particularly if combined with alcohol or other drugs," The Atlantic, Dec. 1989 v264 n6 p36(5).

ASPIRIN

What Aspirin Does.

Why doctors prescribe aspirin for heart attack prevention

Some Articles:

..........Article #1 Does Aspirin Prevent Heart Attacks? Don't Believe It!

..........Article #2 Second Thoughts About An Aspirin a Day to Prevent Heart Attacks

..........Article #3 The Blinding Truth About an Aspirin a Day

..........Article #4 Aspirin and False Advertising

..........Article #5 Bayer Bribery

..........Article #6 Bayer and War Crimes

..........Article #7 Aspirin Use May be Associated with Increased Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

..........Article #8 ***** All NSAIDs May Be Linked to MI (Heart Attack) Risk ****

..........Article #9 The Dangers of Acetaminophen

Notes and Warnings

Alternatives to Aspirin

 

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Drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC spent $770,000 in the first quarter lobbying the U.S. federal government on pharmaceutical issues.

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Organic Milk is Healthier

By: Sylvia Booth Hubbard Article Font Size

Organic milk is healthier than normal milk, says a new study from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. Scientists found that milk from organically farmed cows contained 67 percent more antioxidants than milk from conventionally farmed cows. The study, which analyzed milk from twenty-five farms, found other nutritional differences between organic and non-organic milk. The organic milk contained 39 percent more heart-healthy omega-3 oils and 32 percent less of the less-healthy omega-6 oils. It also had 60 percent more conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which studies have shown can reduce tumors, and also about 60 percent more of vaccenic acid, which may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The researchers found that levels of antioxidants and healthy fatty acids were higher in summer, when cows ate fresh grass. Organically farmed cows get about 80 percent of their diet from grass while cows raised on conventional farms get under 40 percent of their diet from grazing. Although organic milk is more expensive than regular, experts say that since organic milk is so high in nutrients, customers wouldn’t have to buy as much to get the health benefits. “This research confirms what organic farmers and consumers have long believed to be true,” said Peter Melchett, from the Soil Association, which advocates using organic farming methods. “This latest research demonstrates that it is the cows’ organic diet that makes their milk healthier.”

 

 

Editors Note: For an even better view of organic RAW milk, www.realmilk.com.  It is worth the read!

Cold Air Boosts Inflammation in Body

Cold air temperature boosts inflammation in the body, a finding that may help explain why cardiovascular-related deaths increase in the winter months, researchers report.

In a study of adults with a history of heart attack, researchers observed that 5 consecutive days of colder weather lead to increased blood levels of two markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein, or CRP, and interleukin-6). Levels of the inflammatory marker fibrinogen rise after only 3 days of cold temperatures, they report. More

Red Yeast Rice Extract Reduces Heart, Cancer Deaths

A clinical study on patients who have suffered a heart attack found that a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%, revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by two-thirds. The multicenter, randomized, double-blind study, was conducted on almost 5,000 patients, ranging in age from 18-70 over a five-year period at over 60 hospitals in the People’s Republic of China. Corresponding author David M. Capuzzi, M.D., Ph.D, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at Jefferson’s Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine and Zonliang Lu, M.D., Ph.D, from the Fuwai Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Science report their findings in the June 15th edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.

“It’s very exciting because this is a natural product and had very few adverse side effects including no abnormal blood changes,” said Capuzzi. “People in the Far East have been taking Chinese red yeast rice as food for thousands of years, but no one has ever studied it clinically in a double-blind manner with a purified product against a placebo group until now and we are pleased with the results. However, people in the United States should know that the commercially available over-the-counter supplement found in your average health food store is not what was studied here. Those over-the-counter supplements are not regulated, so exact amounts of active ingredient are unknown and their efficacy has not been studied yet.”

The study looked at patients who had suffered a heart attack in the previous year. Study participants were given two-300-milligram XZK capsules or a placebo and tracked over a five-year period. The XZK capsules contained a combination of lovastatin, lovastatin hydroxyl acid, ergosterol and other components.

“I think it is surprising that a natural product like XZK would have this great an effect,” said Capuzzi. “If further testing and study prove true, my hope is that XZK becomes an important therapeutic agent to treat cardiovascular disorders and in the prevention of disease whether someone has had a heart attack or not. But it is important to recognize the fact we do not know exactly how Chinese red yeast rice works. The exact ingredients from the XZK capsules have not been isolated and studied yet. Still the results were so profound, even out performing statins prescribed in numerous western populations, that further study should certainly be investigated

 

source NewsMax

Low Vitamin D Levels May Boost Men's Heart Attack Risk

 MONDAY, June 9 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of heart attack in men, says a U.S. study.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, analyzed medical records and blood samples from 454 men, aged 40 to 75, who had a nonfatal heart attack or fatal heart disease, and compared them to 900 men who had no history of cardiovascular disease.

Men with a vitamin D deficiency (15 nanograms or less per milliliter of blood) had a higher risk of heart attack than those with a sufficient amount of vitamin D (30 nanograms per milliliter of blood or more).

Read More...

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After the news hit, Merck and Schering-Plough stock prices spiraled down. The House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations planned an inquiry. But Merck chief executive Richard Clark stood firm, saying he stood by the safety and efficacy of the "products," both of which remain on the market. MORE

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An Israeli rabbi has declared giraffe meat and milk to be kosher, although his pronouncement is unlikely to have observant Jews clamouring to consume the exotic products, a daily reported on Friday. "The giraffe has all the signs of a ritually pure animal, and the milk forms curds, which strengthened that view," the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot quoted Rabbi Shlomo Mahfoud as saying. The rabbi based his ruling on a recent finding by researchers from Bar Ilan University who took a milk sample while treating a giraffe at Ramat Gan safari park near Tel Aviv. They found that the milk forms curds as required under Jewish religious law, a finding confirmed by another research institute, the daily said. MORE