Primaire preventie van hart- en vaatziekten met acetylsalicylzuur: bij hoogrisicopatiënten

– In the recently published placebo-controlled ‘Women’s health study’, use of acetylsalicylic acid 100 mg daily in healthy women older than 45 years protected against having a stroke. In men, higher doses of acetylsalicylic acid protects against myocardial infarction. However, risk reduction using acetylsalicylic acid is only clinically relevant if the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease is high. Countering vascular-risk factors reduces the chance of cardiovascular complications much more than the use of acetylsalicylic acid and therefore should be pursued without any reservation.

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2005;149:853-4