Aspirin continues to amaze doctors, patients

This tiny pill wears many hats.

Pain reliever. Heart attack and stroke preventer. Arthritis manager. Cancer fighter.

Aspirin continues to amaze doctors and researchers more than 100 years after it was marketed by Bayer.

"There are few drugs where absolutely you have to use this, and this is one of them," said Dr. David Sabgir, a Mount Carmel St. Ann's cardiologist. "Definitely a miracle drug."

Aspirin, which was first sold as a pain reliever, is derived from the bark and leaves of willow trees. (Hippocrates first described its benefits in 400 B.C.)

It has appeared in more than 10,000 medical studies since 1966, according to MedlinePlus, a medical database compiled by the National Library of Medicine. In the past three years, it has been mentioned in more than 4,200 medical paper titles.

Since the 1970s, aspirin also has been prescribed to prevent and manage heart disease. Most recently, the wonder drug has been linked to preventing cancer in the colon, lungs, prostate and esophagus.

So what's the secret to its success?

Aspirin helps keep blood from clotting, Sabgir said, which is crucial for patients who have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke because of family history or past occurrences.

Doctors recommend that women 55 to 79 years old who have never had a heart attack or stroke take one low-dose aspirin a day if the risk of stroke is greater than the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, Sabgir said. Men 45 to 79 who have never had a heart attack should take aspirin if the risk of an attack outweighs the risk of bleeding, he said.

Recommended dosage is 75 to 150 milligrams, but Sabgir said most doctors recommend doses closer to 75 milligrams, the equivalent of one baby aspirin a day. He said taking a regular dose of aspirin instead of a baby dose can have long-term effects on the stomach's gastric lining.

Dr. William Abraham, director of Ohio State's cardiovascular-medicine program, said taking aspirin also can reduce the risk of having another heart attack or stroke by 25 to 30 percent.

"It actually really is what it's cracked up to be," Abraham said.

The benefits are so convincing that doctors say some people are popping a pill a day when they shouldn't.

"A lot of people look at it as a vitamin when it's a medication," said Dr. Teresa Caulin-Glaser, executive director of the McConnell Heart Health Center. "It needs to be treated with that same respect. Aspirin is a powerful medication."

Even the miracle drug isn't risk-free, Caulin-Glaser said.

Patients should ask their doctors before starting an aspirin regimen to discuss side effects, which include bleeding, breathing problems and rashes.

"I think they take it and think they'll never have a heart attack, but that's not the case," Caulin-Glaser said.

"Aspirin is just one tool. It doesn't eliminate the risk."

Will researchers discover other uses for aspirin?

Sabgir said he would bet money on it.

"Certain drugs continue to be good for things," he said.