Play all audios:
Access through your institution Buy or subscribe The investigators identified 39,513 individuals (aged 50–84 years) who had received a first prescription of aspirin (75–300 mg per day) for
secondary prevention of cardiovascular outcomes. In a nested case-control analysis, the risk of myocardial infarction or death from cardiac causes was calculated in patients who discontinued
aspirin therapy and compared with those who remained on the drug during follow-up (mean 3.2 years). Compared with ongoing users, people who stopped taking low-dose aspirin had a significant
increase in the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction (rate ratio 1.63, 95% CI 1.23–2.14), and the combined risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction or death from coronary artery disease
(rate ratio 1.43, 95% CI 1.12–1.84), regardless of previous duration of adherence to antiplatelet therapy. These increased risks are of approximately the same magnitude as the beneficial
effect of prophylactic antiplatelet therapy on nonfatal cardiovascular events. “This reversion to baseline risk is most likely the result of the recovery of thromboxane A2 generation and
platelet function after aspirin discontinuation, [which] might have a role in both vascular occlusion and vasoconstriction,” suggests Dr García Rodríguez. This is a preview of subscription
content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access $209.00 per year only $17.42 per issue
Learn more Buy this article * Purchase on SpringerLink * Instant access to full article PDF Buy now Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout ADDITIONAL
ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER * García Rodríguez, L. A. _ et al_. Discontinuation of
low dose aspirin and risk of myocardial infarction: case-control study in UK primary care. _BMJ_ 343, d4094 (2011) Article Google Scholar Download references Authors * Gregory B. Lim View
author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Lim, G. Discontinuation
of low-dose aspirin reverses its prophylactic effect. _Nat Rev Cardiol_ 8, 542 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2011.123 Download citation * Published: 09 August 2011 * Issue Date:
October 2011 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2011.123 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a
shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative