Good MOrning All,
Thought the following information may be of some use.
Aspirin can reduce blood clots after surgery-study
LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Low doses of aspirin can dramatically cut
the
risk of life threatening blood clots in patients recovering from
surgery,
according to the results of an international study published on Friday.
The Pulmonary Embolism Prevention (PEP) trial studied the effects of
aspirin
on more than 13,000 patients in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden
and
South Africa who had surgery for hip fractures.
The results, published in the latest edition of The Lancet medical
journal,
showed that a five-week course of low-dose aspirin, about half a tablet
daily, cut the number of blood clots in the legs and lungs by a third
and
halved the number of deaths caused by them.
``These results provide good evidence for considering aspirin use
routinely
in a wide range of surgical and medical groups at high risk of venous
thromboembolism (blood clots in the leg),'' the team of researchers
said.
Dr Rory Collins, a professor at the University of Oxford who helped to
conduct the study, called the results far-reaching.
``The benefits of aspirin demonstrated by this trial are likely to
extend to
patients having other types of surgery and to people at risk of
pulmonary
embolism (clots in the lung) for other reasons,'' he said.
The British Heart Foundation heralded the findings, saying they could
have
implications for millions of patients undergoing surgery, particularly
in
the developing world, because aspirin is cheap and widely available.
``It is well known that aspirin benefits patients following heart attack
and
stroke, by preventing blood clots developing in blood vessels supplying
the
heart and the brain,'' the association said in a statement.
``However, previous studies have been inconclusive about the
effectiveness
of aspirin for the prevention of blood clots in the veins of the legs
and in
the lungs -- these conditions are a particularly problem in patients
undergoing major surgery,'' it added.
Aspirin prevents blood clots by reducing the stickiness of platelets,
the
small blood cells that can clump together to form a clot.
God Bless You All,
marty auslander
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