The Washington Post reports that “after years of recommending that middle-aged and older Americans consider taking low-dose aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke,” the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) “is planning to overhaul its guidelines, based on new studies that show that the risks may greatly reduce or cancel out the benefits.” The Post adds, “According to the task force’s draft recommendation [PDF], a review of the latest scientific evidence found that regularly taking low-dose aspirin – 81 milligrams to 100 milligrams – to prevent a first heart attack or stroke may have only a ‘small net benefit’ for people ages 40 to 59 who are at risk for cardiovascular disease.”

USA Today reports that “people over the age of 60 should no longer consider taking a daily low-dose or baby aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, according to” the task force’s draft recommendation. This “announcement marks a change in the 2016 Task Force guidance that recommended aspirin therapy in certain men and women to lower cardiovascular risk.” However, “more recent evidence suggests it also could cause harm, including bleeding in the stomach, intestines, and brain.”

The New York Times reports that “as long ago as 2014, a Food and Drug Administration review concluded that aspirin should not be used for primary prevention, such as to ward off a first heart attack or stroke, and noted the risks.” The Times mentions the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Reuters reports USPSTF, “a panel of 16 independent experts in disease prevention appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also said evidence was insufficient to say that low-dose aspirin use reduces the occurrence of death due to colorectal cancer.”

From the news release of the American Association for Justice.