Taking aspirin protects men and women in different ways.

    BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Taking aspirin does significantly reduce cardiovascular risks, but protects men more from heart attack and women more from stroke, according to a new analysis.

    Researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey Berger, a cardiologist at Duke University Medical Center (Durham, North Carolina) in the U.S., combined results from six different randomized clinical trials of aspirin, involving more than 95,000 patients with no prior heart problems.

    The trials all involved comparisons of the effectiveness of taking low-dose aspirin as a placebo. The report was published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

    The results for 51,342 women showed that aspirin use resulted in a 12 percent reduction in all cardiovascular events and a 17 percent reduction in stroke risk. But there was no significant effect on heart attacks or deaths from cardiovascular events among the women.

    "This is good news," Dr. Berger said, "because many of the past studies of the effect of aspirin in preventing cardiovascular events looked only at men, so physicians were reluctant to prescribe aspirin for women because there was little data."

    The results for 44,114 men showed a 14 percent reduction in all cardiovascular events and a 32 percent reduction in heart attacks. But there was no significant effect among the men for the risk of stroke.

    Currently, the American Heart Association recommends that both men and women at moderate risk of cardiovascular problems take low-dose aspirin on a daily basis.

    Dr. Berger cautioned that while aspirin has clear benefits, it also carries potential risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, and should "never replace other ways of reducing cardiovascular risks, such as eating a proper diet and exercising." Enditem

    (Agencies)