23.03.2016Does an «aspirin a day» keep the heart disease and cancer away?

Prof. Milo Puhan, director of the Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Prevention Institute,
was featured on Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) talking about the role of aspirin in cardiovascular disease and cancer prevention.

While the evidence is quite consistence that daily low dose aspirin lowers the risk
of myocardial infarction, stroke, and cancer in general, the benefits need to be balanced against the harms when considering individuals. Importantly, the patient’s values and preferences should be considered through a discussion with the GP.
Prof. Puhan developed with colleagues an online calculator to assess the benefit
harm balance of an individual: http://www.benefit-harm-balance.com/

You can read more of Prof. Puhan’s research on the benefits and harms of low
dose aspirin here:

Benefit-harm analysis and charts for individualized and preference-sensitive prevention: example of low dose aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer

Aspirin for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer. A Benefit and Harm Analysis