When it comes to senior health, the University of Minnesota recently had a very simple and cheap idea. Called “Ask About Aspirin,” the initiative was geared toward helping reduce the likelihood of elderly folk suffering from a first heart attack just by encouraging them to ask whether or not aspirin would be helpful for them. This seemingly small step is predicted to have great results, if only because it helps people learn that there are easy preventative steps that they can take immediately to improve their long term health.
This program was designed to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in men aged 45 to 79, and women aged 55 to 79. It was a statewide campaign, and the goal was to reduce the occurrences of a heart attack by 10,000 and strokes by 1,200 over the course of a year. And all of this was done just by raising awareness of the benefits that aspirin could have on senior’s health levels. The idea was that if health benefits could be improved, the financial cost for communities would go down as there would be fewer cases that would need to be covered by public health dollars, such as with Medicaid or Medicare. Aspirin is pretty cheap, and it also happens to be quite effective in most cases, making it a great place to start a public campaign with. The results are still ongoing, but so far they look to be promising. This is the first study that has looked at the use of awareness about aspirin to improve public health, but already researchers are confident that this is a very cost effective way to improve health for communities as a whole.
Both strokes and heart attacks can be devastating on the lifestyle of a senior citizen. They increase the risk of death drastically, and make a permanent disability more likely. If someone becomes disabled, there are solutions to their care, such as in-home care in less severe cases or a nursing home in more drastic cases, but nobody wants a loved one to go through this kind of an ordeal. Not only is it difficult to watch someone have their way of life destroyed, many of these cases, as this current study points out, were completely preventable at the time. It is important that preventative steps be taken, and a daily dose of aspirin is a good place to start. Other things, like exercise, better diet, and more, can also be quite helpful. If you have further questions about how to improve your or a loved one’s cardiovascular health, be sure to meet with your doctor for a physical and some advice. The sooner you act, the less your chances of cardiovascular disease become.
Remember, never start taking a medication–even something that is over the counter like aspirin–before consulting with a physician. Aspirin may not help everyone, and in some people it can have negative effects. This is the exact opposite of what researchers were going for, so it’s important that this be addressed on a case by case basis under the supervision of a doctor.
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