Toronto 
Heart & Stroke Foundation is asking Canadians not to take Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) if they do not have a history of stroke or heart or vascular disease.
This is the new Heart & Stroke guideline published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. This is based on the strong new research that indicates taking ASA (brand names include Aspirin, Entrophen, Novasen) daily could potentially do more harm than good for those at low risk for stroke, heart or vascular disease, by causing serious side effects such as internal bleeding. This new guideline is a change from a long-standing conventional belief on the part of the public and health care providers as 2.4 million Canadians are taking ASA to prevent stroke and heart disease.
ASA guidelines (CNW Group/Heart and Stroke Foundation)
“The new recommendations only apply to those who have not had a stroke, heart condition or peripheral artery disease. It is still strongly recommended that anyone with a history of stroke, or heart or vascular disease continue to take low-dose, daily ASA to prevent another event from occurring if they have been advised to do so by a health professional,” said Dr. Theodore Wein, neurologist at McGill University and the chair of the Heart & Stroke writing group that developed the new guideline.
The news release states that the American Heart Association has revised its ASA recommendations based on this new evidence which was developed in collaboration with the Canadian Stroke Consortium.
