Low-dose aspirin as primary prevention for adults without cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Background: 

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors are often put on low-dose aspirin to prevent future cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death. However, the evidence supporting this practice is limited.

Objective: 

To examine whether adults without a history of cardiovascular disease benefit from taking daily low-dose aspirin as primary prevention for cardiovascular disease and death.

Data sources: 

The four databases of PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Ovid were used, and a total of 67 nonduplicate articles were reviewed. After examining those articles, four studies were included. Of the four studies, three were randomized controlled trials, and one was a retrospective cohort study.

Conclusions: 

All four studies concluded that daily low-dose aspirin used for primary prevention does not lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Implications for practice: 

Further research needs to be conducted to determine whether daily low-dose aspirin is beneficial in individuals without a history of cardiovascular disease. Nurse practitioners need to know the most current evidence-based practice recommendations to appropriately counsel patients about whether they should be taking low-dose aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease.