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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It may no longer be a mans world, but try and tell that to your heart. New research shows the benefits of aspirin may only be felt among men.
Researchers from The James Hogg iCAPTURE Center for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research in Canada reviewed data from 23 published clinical trials evaluating the effect of aspirin on heart attack prevention. More than 113,000 patients were involved in the trials reviewed for the study. Researchers wanted to know if the ratio of men to women in these various trials affected the outcomes of the studies.
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Results show trials that predominantly recruited men had the biggest risk reduction in non-fatal heart attacks. Those that consisted primarily of women did not show a significant reduction in the risk of non-fatal heart attacks. Authors of the study write, We found that a lot of the variability in these trials seems to be due to the gender ratios, supporting the theory that women may be less responsive to aspirin than men for heart protection.
Its not clear why there is such a difference between men and women when it comes to the benefits of aspirin, but previous research suggests may lie in major differences between men and women in the structure and physiology of the hearts blood vessels.
The current analysis provides clues to why aspirins effects vary so greatly from study to study. Some trials have shown no difference between aspirin and a placebo. Others have shown aspirin can reduce the risk of heart attack by more than 50 percent.
Researchers conclude, From our findings we would caution clinicians on the prescribing aspirin to women, especially for primary prevention of heart attacks.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: BMC Medicine, published online Oct. 17, 2007 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/5/29/abstract
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