Evidence of the benefits of taking aspirin for people with heart failure and diabetes

New research has suggested that individuals who suffer from both heart failure and type II diabetes may benefit from taking daily aspirin. The study reviewed medical records from more than 12,000 individuals living with these conditions in the UK over a number of years. This was not a clinical trial - a trial is the best way to demonstrate a definite link between aspirin use and these conditions, and so these findings need to be confirmed.

The researchers reported that, over the study period, deaths were less common in the group of individuals taking daily aspirin compared to those who did not take aspirin. Aspirin has been linked to benefits for both of these conditions previously. The study also reported that those taking aspirin were more likely to experience a non-fatal heart attack or stroke – however, it was suggested that this could be due to the fact that these individuals lived longer. These findings need to be confirmed in other studies. The research is being presented at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting.

There are some important limitations to this type of study – in particular, there are many other factors that will affect an individual’s risk of dying, and their risk of heart attack or stroke - these may differ for those people who did take aspirin and those who did not. In the Add-Aspirin clinical trial some participants will take aspirin and others will take a placebo (dummy) tablet  –  this is decided at random to ensure a fair comparison. Information on these conditions and on heart attack and stroke are being collected as part of the trial to help better understand all of the benefits and possible side effects of taking aspirin for different groups of people. This new research further highlights the need for clinical trials to answer these questions once and for all.