Study: Aspirin Recommendation Rates Less Than Ideal

While it is well known that daily aspirin can protect against the risk of cardiovascular disease, the number of patient-reported physician recommendation for aspirin as preventive therapy is less than ideal, a new study finds.

Using data from 3435 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012 and the Framingham Risk Score, researchers from the University of Florida calculated the participants’ 10-year risk of heart attack, as well as the number of participants that had been recommended daily aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer.
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Of the high-risk patients (those with Framingham Risk scores of 10% or greater), only 40.9% reported daily aspirin recommendation from their physician, of which, 79% complied. Of low-risk participants (scores below 10%), 26% were given recommendations and 76.5% complied.

“It is clear that quality of care for primary prevention falls far short of ideal,” researchers concluded.

“Further research on clinical decision support systems and interventions designed to reinforce the use of appropriate risk calculation is necessary to ensure that patients receive appropriate preventive care.”

–Michael Potts

Reference

Mainous AG, Tanner RJ, Shorr RI, Limacher MC. Use of aspirin for primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention in the United States, 2011-2012. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014 July 14 [epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1161/​JAHA.114.000989