RxAdvocate May, 2022 — Newsletter

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently the leading cause of mortality in the United States, accounting for more than 1 in 4 deaths. Each year, an estimated 605,000 Americans have their first heart attack and about 610,000 experience their first stroke. Late last month, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated its 2016 recommendations regarding aspirin use to prevent CVD. According to the USPSTF, the new recommendations are as follows: persons aged 40-59 with an estimated 10% or greater 10-year CVD risk, the decision to initiate low-dose aspirin use for the primary prevention of CVD should be an individualized one. For persons 60 years or older, it is not recommended to initiate aspirin therapy for the primary prevention of CVD. These recommendations differ from the previous ones which suggested aspirin therapy start at age 50, instead of 40, and that aspirin should begin routinely for all persons in the recommended age and CVD risk groups. Source