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Aspirin Cost-Effective Heart Disease
Prevention
Newswise,
February 23, 2011--Using aspirin for
coronary heart prevention is less costly and
more effective than doing nothing in men
older than 45 with more than 10 percent
10-year-risk of the disease, according to a
study by researchers at RTI International,
University of Michigan, and University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The study, published online in the Archives
of Internal Medicine, used a Markov model to
compare the costs and outcomes of
prescribing low-dose aspirin alone, aspirin
plus a proton-pump inhibitor, or no
treatment for coronary heart prevention. The
researchers specifically considered the
effects of each treatment on cardiovascular
events and risk of upper gastrointestinal
bleeding.
"This analysis
supports the role of aspirin for primary
prevention of cardio heart disease events in
middle-aged men across a range of cardio
heart disease and gastrointestinal bleeding
risk levels," said Stephanie Earnshaw,
Ph.D., a health economist at RTI Health
Solutions, a business unit of RTI, and the
paper's lead author.
"Increased
risk of gastrointestinal bleeding does not
reduce aspirin's net benefit until
gastrointestinal bleeding risk becomes quite
high."
The
researchers also found that adding proton
pump inhibitors was not cost-effective for
men with average gastrointestinal tract
bleeding, but may be cost-effective for
selected men at increased risk for
gastrointestinal bleeding.\
About RTI
International
RTI International is one of the world's
leading research institutes, dedicated to
improving the human condition by turning
knowledge into practice.
Our staff of more
than 2,800 provides research and technical
expertise to governments and businesses in
more than 40 countries in the areas of
health and pharmaceuticals, education and
training, surveys and statistics, advanced
technology, international development,
economic and social policy, energy and the
environment, and laboratory and chemistry
services. For more information, visitwww.rti.org.
