{"id":843099,"date":"2025-04-23T21:12:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T02:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/half-of-americans-still-believe-this-dangerous-aspirin-myth\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T21:12:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T02:12:06","slug":"half-of-americans-still-believe-this-dangerous-aspirin-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/half-of-americans-still-believe-this-dangerous-aspirin-myth\/","title":{"rendered":"Half of Americans Still Believe This Dangerous Aspirin Myth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Man<\/a>
New guidelines advise against daily low-dose aspirin for healthy older adults due to the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding outweighing the benefits, yet many Americans still follow the outdated advice. A recent survey found nearly half of U.S. adults mistakenly believe that the benefits of routine aspirin use outweigh the risks, with 18% of those without heart issues taking it regularly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite new guidelines warning against daily aspirin use for healthy older adults, many Americans still believe it is beneficial. A survey found that 18% of those without a history of heart disease or stroke take aspirin regularly, even though the risks outweigh the benefits for most.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For years, doctors advised healthy older adults to take a low-dose aspirin daily to reduce the risk of heart attack. However, in March 2019, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (AHA) issued new guidelines<\/a>, no longer recommending a daily aspirin for healthy adults over 70, as the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding outweighs the benefits.<\/p>\n

Nearly five years later, many Americans still haven\u2019t received the message.<\/p>\n

A new health survey<\/a> by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania<\/div>\n

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is a prestigious private Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin, Penn is one of the oldest universities in the United States. It is renowned for its strong emphasis on interdisciplinary education and its professional schools, including the Wharton School, one of the leading business schools globally. The university offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across various fields such as law, medicine, engineering, and arts and sciences. Penn is also known for its significant contributions to research, innovative teaching methods, and active campus life, making it a hub of academic and extracurricular activity.<\/div>\n

” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>University of Pennsylvania<\/span><\/a> found that nearly half (48%) of U.S. adults incorrectly believe that, for most people, the benefits of taking a daily low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attack or stroke outweigh the risks.<\/p>\n

In all, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults who say they have no personal or family history of heart attack or stroke report routinely taking a low-dose aspirin, with 10% saying they take it \u201cbasically every day,\u201d 2% \u201ca few times a week,\u201d and 6% \u201ca few times a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

The past rationale for routine low-dose aspirin use was that aspirin acts as a blood thinner and reduces the clotting that can clog arteries and lead to heart attack or stroke. Low-dose aspirin is still considered an important strategy<\/a> for preventing heart attack in people who have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease<\/div>\n

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) encompasses a range of disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels, including coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke, and hypertension. These conditions are primarily driven by atherosclerosis, a process where plaque builds up in the arterial walls, leading to narrowed or blocked arteries. Risk factors include smoking, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, obesity, and genetic predisposition. CVD remains a leading cause of global mortality, emphasizing the importance of lifestyle changes, medical interventions, and preventive measures in managing and reducing the risk of heart-related illnesses.<\/div>\n

” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>cardiovascular disease<\/span> and are not at risk of increased bleeding.<\/p>\n

But doctors\u2019 recommendations for healthy adults have shifted on the risks and benefits of taking a low-dose (typically 81 mg.) aspirin. In 2022, three years after the publication of the new AHA guidelines, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommended against<\/a> starting a new regimen of low-dose aspirin use for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease for an even larger group of older adults \u2013 those 60 and older<\/em> without a history of cardiovascular disease (including heart failure and stroke) or signs or symptoms of cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

\"Public<\/a>
Among people with no personal or family history of stroke or heart attack, younger adults (18-39) are more aware that for most adults, the risks of taking a daily low-dose aspirin outweigh the benefits. Nearly 3 in 10 (29%) young adults know the risks outweigh the benefits, compared with 7% of adults 60+. Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center\u2019s ASAPH survey, November 2024. Credit: Annenberg Public Policy Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHabits backed by conventional wisdom and the past advice of health care providers are hard to break,\u201d noted Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and director of the survey. \u201cKnowing whether taking a low-dose aspirin daily is advisable or not for you is vital health information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who takes a daily low-dose aspirin?<\/h4>\n

In the survey, 45% of respondents report that they or someone in their family has had a heart attack or stroke, while 49% do not have a family history of heart attack or stroke (6% are not sure). A 2024 AHA report<\/a> estimates that 3.1% of Americans age 20 and older have had a heart attack and 3.3% have had a stroke, and over 48% of adults 20 and older have cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, or hypertension.<\/p>\n

Those with a personal history of heart attack or stroke may be directed to take a low-dose daily aspirin by their doctors. Those 40- to 59-year-olds who have a 10% or greater 10-year cardiovascular risk also may be directed to take aspirin, in line with the recommendations. Still, the survey finds that 18% of those with no history of heart attack or stroke report regularly taking a daily low-dose aspirin and 43% of this no-history group say that for most adults, the benefits of doing so outweigh the risks.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a>
Among U.S. adults with no personal or family history of heart attack or stroke, over 1 in 4 people age 60 and up report regulary taking low-dose aspirin to reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke. Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center\u2019s ASAPH survey, November 2024. Credit: Annenberg Public Policy Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the group with no history, younger survey respondents are more likely to correctly report that the risks outweigh the benefits \u2013 possibly because older respondents are more familiar with the earlier guidance. Twenty-nine percent of respondents with no relevant medical history who are 18 to 39 years old correctly say that the risks of a daily aspirin outweigh the benefits, compared with 11% of those 40 to 59 years old and 7% of those 60 and older.<\/p>\n

APPC\u2019s Annenberg Science and Public Health knowledge survey<\/h4>\n

The survey data come from the 22nd<\/sup> wave of a nationally representative panel of 1,771 U.S. adults conducted for the Annenberg Public Policy Center by SSRS, an independent market research company. Most have been empaneled since April 2021. To account for attrition, small replenishment samples have been added over time using a random probability sampling design. The most recent replenishment, in September 2024, added 360 respondents to the sample. This wave of the Annenberg Science and Public Health Knowledge (ASAPH)<\/a> survey was fielded Nov. 14-24, 2024. The margin of sampling error (MOE) is \u00b1 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All figures are rounded to the nearest whole number and may not add to 100%. Combined subcategories may not add to totals in the topline and text due to rounding.<\/p>\n

Download the topline<\/a> and the methods report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t University of Pennsylvania
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New guidelines advise against daily low-dose aspirin for healthy older adults due to the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding outweighing the benefits, yet many Americans still follow the outdated advice. A recent survey found nearly half of U.S. adults mistakenly believe that the benefits of routine aspirin use outweigh the risks, with 18% of those without<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":843100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2623,1441],"tags":[5464,5582],"class_list":["post-843099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-americans","category-still","tag-americans","tag-still"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}