At Martin ORiordans cardiology practice in the Philadelphia area, it happens weekly. A 45- or 50-year-old patient mentions that her father had a heart attack at the same age. Worried that the same fate will befall her despite being in good health, she takes baby aspirin every day. ORiordans typical response: Please stop. Physicians have known for decades that daily, low-dose aspirin makes sense for patients who have had a heart attack or stroke, as it sharply reduces the chance of having a second one. But for people who have never had one of these cardiovascular events, the thinking on aspirin is less clear, despite two recent large-scale studies. The reason for caution is the very reason that aspirin wards off heart attacks and strokes: It interferes with blood clotting, putting the patient at higher risk of serious gastrointestinal bleeding. Bottom line: Aspirin is more potent than many people realize, said ORiordan, of Mercy Cardiology. People have kind of looked at it as, Aspirin, an apple, a glass of milk, its all good for you, said ORiordan, who is on staff at Lankenau Medical Center. Aspirin is a medication. It is a medication drawing renewed scrutiny, 30 years after the … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, March 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that treating depression with antidepressants may have an added bonus: reducing heart risks. "Screening and treatment of depressive symptoms should be a high priority" in heart patients, lead author Heidi May, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, said in a news release from the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The findings are scheduled to be presented March 15 at the ACC's annual meeting, in San Diego. In its study, May's team analyzed health data from more than 5,300 people in Utah with moderate to severe depression. People who took antidepressants alone had a 53 percent lower risk of death, heart disease and stroke over three years than those who did not take antidepressants or statins. Taking a cholesterol-lowering statin, either alone or with antidepressants, did not significantly reduce the risk, the researchers found. The level of depression appeared to be key, May said. While antidepressant therapy didn't seem to boost the heart health of people with little or no depression, it did have an effect on those with more serious depression. The study couldn't prove that the use of antidepressants helped … Continue reading →