Could you be aspirin resistant? -by Jennifer Conrad- Womansday 11/1/04

     Many doctors advise patients to take a daily aspirin to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and sroke.  But new studies suggest that popping this daily pill might not work for everyone.  In fact, anywhere from 5 to 40 percent of the 25 million Americans who take aspirin daily may be resistant to the therapy.  And those who are resistant are up to three times more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than those who aren't.

     To find out if your daily aspirin isn't working, you can take a new blood test called VerifyNow.  Made by Accumetrics, the test costs about $30 and produces results in 30 minutes.  "Aspirin resistance is a risk factor for stroke and heart attack," says Daniel I. Simon, M.D., professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, "but we are unsure of how to best treat these patients at this time."  While alternative therapies do exist, clinical trials data in this area is still evolving, he said.

     In the meantime, resistant patients may be told by their doctors to increase their dose of aspirin, to stop taking ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), which may interfere with aspirin, or to begin taking clopidogrel (Plavix), a prescription drug that helps prevent blood clots.  If you're aspirin resistant, doctors stress that you should keep taking it, since it has other benefits, most notably its anti-inflammatory effects.
    

Lisa

Wayne,

Check out this article which is much more detailed and answers your questions.  This is all surprising news to me but evidently is very common, or so they are finding.  I have since found that they featured aspirin resistance on CNN and Nightline.  I'm going to ask to be checked myself.  Better safe than sorry and it's a cheap and easy test.

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Lisa