Michael J. Barry, MD, vice chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and director of the Informed Medical Decisions Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, spoke to Cardiovascular Business about the USPSTF's updated guidelines on aspirin use for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention.
Barry, who is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, noted that the USPSTF updated its recommendations compared to the last guidelines were published in 2016.
For high-risk patients between the ages of 40 to 59 with no prior history of CVD, the USPSTF concluded with “moderate certainty” that taking daily low-dose aspirin is associated with a “small net benefit.” This represents the group’s C grade, meaning that it ultimately comes down to each individual patient’s situation and a healthcare professional should be consulted before making any final decision.
The USPSTF does not recommended that patients 60 years old or older with no prior history of CVD take aspirin for this specific purpose, however, because it was linked to “no net benefit.” This represents the group’s D grade.
"There are two things to remember," Barry said. "One, these recommendation do not apply to people already taking aspirin. Those people should talk to their clinicians about the details of why they're on it and the risks and benefits. In addition, this does not apply to people who already have CVD or have had a stroke, heart attack or other evidence of atherosclerosis."
Barry also emphasized that aspirin is "just one tool in the toolbox" for preventing CVD. Statin therapy, he added, is an effective intervention linked to reductions of 25 to 20% in cardiovascular endpoints. With aspirin, the reductions are closer to 10%.
Read the full guideline recommendations at U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Aspirin Use to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2022;327(16):1577–1584. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.4983.
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.