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Health Check: Daily Aspirin: Not for Healthy Elderly

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2018/09/19 GMT

Daily Aspirin: Not for Healthy Elderly

BBC World Service - Health Check, Daily Aspirin: Not for Healthy Elderly

Aspirin doesn’t protect healthy older people from heart attacks

Aspirin won’t protect healthy older people from heart attacks or stroke; Lessons learned from past childhood separation policy in Canada; Hookah pipe smoking stiffens arteries

Some older people take a daily low-dose aspirin on the advice of their doctor, if they’ve had a heart attack or stroke, to reduce their risk of having another one.  And some otherwise healthy older people copy them. But a new study this week shows that the drug increases the risk of internal bleeding – commonly in the brain or stomach. Anyone worried about taking aspirin should talk to their doctor before stopping taking it. 

The “zero tolerance” policy in the United States saw some 2,300 migrant children separated from their parents on the American border. Around five hundred still haven’t been reunited with their families.  We hear from Canadian doctors, recalling their country’s practice for 100 years - of removing indigenous children from their families. So what lessons has Canada learned about the impact of separation on children’s health and well-being? 

Although they originated in the Middle East, hookah pipes or shisha are increasing in popularity in places such as the US. Many believe it’s less harmful than smoking than cigarettes, but new research on 18-34 year old hookah smokers has found that even a single session can cause stiffening of the walls of the arteries. 




(Photo credit: Getty Images)

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