Aspirin Story - unravelled.
Aspirin - the generic name for acetylsalicylic acid, is a tiny pill that saves a 100-thousand lives every year because of its ability to prevent clots in the arteries.
Felix Hoffman at Bayer successfully synthesised it in 1897 - and its subsequent marketing in 1899 as “Aspirin” turned it into an OTC miracle drug of the 20th C.
Initially, it was used for pain and fever, but later its remarkable anti-platelet properties were discovered.
Aspirin’s fascinating history dates back to around 4000 years, when broth made from willow bark was used as a natural remedy for pain and fever by the Sumerians and the Egyptians.
Before 2022, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that even healthy adults aged 60 years and older could take aspirin as a “Primary Prevention Recommendation” to reduce the risk of future heart attack and stroke.
But in April 2022, the USPSTF revised its guidance from primary to “Secondary Prevention Recommendation” stating that healthy individuals over 60 should not take aspirin because of side effects such as stomach ulcers, internal bleeding, and brain bleeds - risks that outweighed the reduced chance of heart attack and stroke.
Instead, aspirin should only be used in patients who already have plaque build-up and show symptoms of heart attack or stroke.
So, to cut a long story short - just remember to chew on an adult Aspirin if you think you are having a heart attack!
ZP
#AspirinStory #HeartHealth #PreventiveMedicine #CardiacCare #MedicalHistory #HealthAwareness #LifeSavingDrug
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