patients receive such dietary advice from their doctor or even stick to it? Please see Chapter 14 about
the damaging side effects that arise from being on a prolonged low-fat diet or light-food diet.But Doesn’t Aspirin Protect Against Heart Disease?
If you are diagnosed with heart failure and follow the recommended treatment of taking blood thinners
such as aspirin or coumadin, you could seriously endanger your health. In a recent study, researchers
compared blood-thinning therapies to not receiving any antithrombotic treatment. The researchers not
only found no advantage in undergoing such treatments, but risks of further complications. Participants
included 279 patients who were diagnosed with heart failure that required diuretic therapy. The subjects
were divided into three groups, aspirin therapy, warfarin therapy and no antithrombotic therapy.
Results of the Study- Aspirin and warfarin didn't provide the patients with any valuable health benefits.
- There didn't appear to be any substantial differences of incidences of death, nonfatal heart attacks or
nonfatal stroke in the three groups of the study. - Patients in the aspirin group had increased chances of experiencing serious gastrointestinal problems.
- Cases of minor bleeding complications were primarily seen among the aspirin and warfarin group.
- Patients in the aspirin therapy group were twice as likely as the patients in the warfarin group to face
hospitalization for cardiovascular complications, particularly worsening cases of heart failure during
the first 12 months following the study. - Warfarin proved to be ineffective and should be eliminated as a treatment option.
Popular medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen can raise blood pressure and raise
the risk of heart disease among men, according to findings published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Men who took such drugs for most days in a week were about one-third more likely to be diagnosed with
high blood pressure than men not taking them, the researchers found. The new findings reinforce a study
published in 2002 that these drugs raise blood pressure in women. This is a potentially preventable cause
of high blood pressure," Dr. John Forman of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the
study, said in a statement.
The main problem with aspirin is that millions of people take it for all sort of reasons, such as to
“treat” every day headaches, arthritis, muscle pulls, blood and other aches and pains, as well as to
“reduce” the risk of heart attack and stroke. Aspirin and other NSAIDs can affect the ability of blood
vessels to expand, and may also cause sodium retention—two factors that can both raise blood pressure.
In the same context, COX-2 inhibitors—prescription arthritis drugs designed to be safer than NSAIDS—
have been found to actually raise heart attack risk and cause strokes.
Based on the results from these studies, the treatment of heart failure should not involve the use of
drug-based blood thinners, such as aspirin. It is relatively easy to keep the blood thin through a balanced
vegetarian diet, drinking sufficient quantities of water, avoiding diuretic foods and beverages, keeping
regular mealtimes and bedtimes, and cleansing the liver, kidneys and colon.