Questions on Aspirin Therapy

[jerry78]

(1) I have read different articles that suggest anywhere from 81 to 325 mgs. per day.  What is the current recommendation for aspirin therapy in someone who did not have a prior cardiac event?

(2) Does the time of day dosing matter?  I know most people like to take their vitamins, etc., in the morning, but I am more adept at taking my meds before bed.  Should my aspirin be taken upon waking, or is it OK to keep my schedule of taking it before bed?

Thanks, Jerry

[BizNurse]

My hubby (44 YEARS OLD) has PAF, and we JUST happened to see the Cardiac Electrophysiologist today, and he recommended the 325mg daily... Said something about this was the latest in treatment info..   Since the 325mg bothers his stomach, even when enteric coated, he takes 3 baby asa daily.. again enteric coated...

Linda/RN

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

Jerry,

Thanks for the questions.

Q1:"I have read different articles that suggest anywhere from 81 to 325 mgs. per day. What is the current recommendation for aspirin therapy in someone who did not have a prior cardiac event?"

Regrdless of prior events or not, our general recommendation is either 81 to 162 mg per day.  The available evidence does not indicate superiority of one dose over the other in this range.  This recommendation was largely derived from a huge meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal 2 years ago.

Q2:"2) Does the time of day dosing matter? I know most people like to take their vitamins, etc., in the morning, but I am more adept at taking my meds before bed. Should my aspirin be taken upon waking, or is it OK to keep my schedule of taking it before bed?"

The anti-platelet effect of aspirin lasts about 7 days and is not dependent on liver metabolism.  Thus, the timing of the dosing does not matter.

Hope that helps.