Study shows people with diabetes who have no symptoms of heart disease do not benefit from taking aspirin, though previous sufferers may benefit

This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

People with diabetes should not routinely take aspirin to prevent heart attacks, new research suggested today.

It has been argued that routine use of the drug could help prevent the risk of a heart attack. But research by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that people with diabetes who showed no symptoms of heart disease had no benefit from regularly taking aspirin.

But some groups of people with diabetes would still benefit from taking aspirin, it found. After a heart attack or stroke, taking the drug could reduce the risk of future related problems by a quarter.

The research, conducted by Professor Jill Belch of the Institute of Cardiovascular Research at Dundee University, found the drug was most effective if prescribed to people with more serious cardiovascular problems.

The report read: "A total of seven well-controlled trials now show that aspirin has no benefit for primary prevention of cardiovascular events, even in people at higher risk.

"Although aspirin is cheap and universally available, practitioners and authors of guidelines need to heed the evidence that aspirin should be prescribed only in patients with established symptomatic cardiovascular disease."

The study involved more than 1,200 middle-aged patients with type one or type two diabetes.

Belch told the Daily Mail: "If you're taking aspirin for secondary prevention because you've had a heart attack, or stroke, or have a circulatory problem, then it works.

"But it doesn't work if you have none of these problems and there is also no evidence for its use by healthy middle-aged people.

"We do not want people taking aspirin prescribed by their doctor to stop taking it without seeking medical advice. They may have conditions for which it is suitable."