Aspirin use is associated with a heightened risk of heart failure (HF) among patients who may already face an elevated HF risk, according to new data published in ESC Heart Failure.
The study’s authors tracked more than 30,000 adult patients included in the HOMAGE study. Patients were from either Europe or the United States, and the minimum age was 40. The average age was 67 years old, and 66% were men. Patients were all free of HF at the start of the study, but considered “at risk” of HF due to risk factors such as high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes or a history of smoking.
Approximately 25% of patients were taking aspirin. After 5.3 years of follow-up, 1,330 patients had developed HF.
Overall, even after making adjustments for age, sex, BMI and a large variety of other factors, taking aspirin was associated with a 26% higher risk of a new HF diagnosis.
A second matched analysis was also performed—and the result was the same.
“This was the first large study to investigate the relationship between aspirin use and incident HF in individuals with and without heart disease and at least one risk factor,” lead author Blerim Mujaj, MD, PhD, of the University of Freiburg in Germany, said in a prepared statement. “Aspirin is commonly used—in our study one in four participants were taking the medication. In this population, aspirin use was associated with incident HF, independent of other risk factors.”
Calling for additional research on this topic, Mujaj concluded that “our observations suggest that aspirin should be prescribed with caution in those with HF or with risk factors for the condition.”
Read the full study here.
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.