CGH Medical Center issued the following announcement on Feb. 18.
Women who had high blood pressure when they were pregnant (pre-eclampsia) are at higher risk for a stroke as they get older. Now, a study in the journal Neurology suggests that taking a low-dose aspirin regularly might help some of these women reduce that risk.
Pre-eclampsia is a serious disorder that can damage a woman's organs. It usually starts after the 20th week of pregnancy. When a woman develops pre-eclampsia, her baby may have to be delivered early. And she may be more prone to having heart attacks and strokes.
Regular aspirin use is already recommended for some people at high risk for heart attack and stroke. It helps prevent blood clots that can cause many of these conditions. But could aspirin benefit women with a history of pre-eclampsia too—even if they don't yet have heart or blood vessel problems?
Excess risk erased?
To find out if aspirin might help, the researchers studied the data of about 4,000 women with a history of pre-eclampsia. Some of these women took aspirin three or more times a week for at least a year after they had their babies.
For middle-aged women with a history of pre-eclampsia:
Aspirin seemed to totally eliminate the added risk of stroke for women under 60. Their stroke risk was the same as those who'd never had pre-eclampsia.
The risk of stroke for women under 60 was 50 percent higher if they did not take aspirin.
Aspirin had no meaningful effect for those over 60.
Caution: Not for everyone
Based on these findings, the researchers think aspirin might lower stroke risk in middle-aged women with a history of pre-eclampsia, even if they don't have other vascular disease risk factors.
However, the researchers said it's too early to know if all women who have had pre-eclampsia should take aspirin regularly. After all, aspirin can cause serious side effects, like bleeding that requires hospitalization. And more studies are needed to confirm the findings in more women with a history of pre-eclampsia.
If you're thinking about taking aspirin routinely, talk to your doctor first.
Original source can be found here.
Source: CGH Medical Center
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