For years, the standard Venous Thromboembolism Treatment has commonly seen the reliance on a blood thinning drug called warfarin (Coumadin). But a new Italian study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is showing that replacing warfarin with aspirin after two years may be a safer and less expensive alternative, cutting down the risks of bleeding:
Aspirin Effective for Venous Thromboembolism Treatment- says Italian Study
By Steven Reinberg (HealthDay News) – ”Aspirin given after a standard course of anticoagulant treatment may reduce recurrence of venous thromboembolism without increasing complications,” said lead researcher Dr. Cecilia Becattini, from the Internal and Cardiovascular Medicine and Stroke Unit at the University of Perugia.
So aspirin can be an alternative after an initial period of warfarin treatment, Becattini said, and “patients could be shifted to aspirin after talking it over with their doctor.”The study was published in the May 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
An accompanying journal editorial noted that venous thromboembolism, which includes deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the legs) and pulmonary embolism (a clot in the lungs), occurs in two to three people per 1,000 yearly.
The danger of a venous thromboembolism is that a clot can break loose and travel to the lungs, heart or brain, resulting in a heart attack, stroke, difficulty breathing or even death. For the study, Becattini’s team randomly assigned 402 patients to receive aspirin or an inactive placebo after receiving other anticoagulant treatment for six to 18 months.
All of the patients had had a first episode of venous thromboembolism and had not had any risk factors that might have predicted it, the researchers noted. Over two years of follow-up, 28 (6.6 percent) of those taking aspirin had a venous thromboembolism recur, compared with 43 (11.2 percent) of those receiving a placebo, the study found. One patient in each group had an episode of major bleeding, the authors noted.
“Aspirin reduced the risk of recurrence when given to patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism who had discontinued anticoagulant treatment, with no apparent increase in the risk of major bleeding,” the researchers concluded. More information here
Aspirin, which many naturalists consider an herbal remedy, proves it’s worth yet again…. this time for the treatment of Venous Thromboembolism.
With more and more people wanting natural and holistic remedies…
I’m going to make a prediction that we will be seeing many more aspirin studies in the future. And who would pay for these studies you might ask? Well, Bayer HealthCare helped fund this particular study.
Here’s another article about the miracle of aspirin.
http://holisticremediesnews.com/2832/an-aspirin-a-day75-mg-or-more-can-keep-the-cancer-away/
