Aspirin and prevention of ischemic stroke in women:
- Cardiovascular events were not reduced in women by aspirin and therefore they are not believed to benefit from aspirin for heart disease but women do benefit from aspirin in the prevention of ischemic stroke.
- Women age 55 to 79 years: The USPSTF strongly recommends aspirin when the potential benefit due to a reduction in ischemic strokes (which occur when an artery to the brain is blocked) is more beneficial than the potential harm due greater gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
- Women 55 years old or younger: The USPSTF recommends against the use of aspirin for stroke prevention since the benefit for prevention of ischemic stroke is small.
Atrial fibrillation:
Patients with atrial fibrillation are at a higher risk for stroke between 1-20% per year or 4.5% on average depending on the presence of additional risk factors and medical problems. For detailed information on prevention of stroke with anticoagulation including warfarin (Coumadin), antiplatelet agents (aspirin and clopidogrel) and new recommendations for dabigatran, please see the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) “Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke” available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22858728 or http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/43/12/3442.full (64).