AFIBBERS FORUM

Because I’ve subscribed to a variety of alternative medicine newsletters, I’m on the list for all the advertising of new letters forthcoming. Recently, I received one that caught my “eye.” The heading was “The Blinding Truth About an Aspirin a Day!”

This grabbed my attention immediately for two reasons…1) I’ve taken aspirin for years for a variety of conditions including migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, and over the past 8 years – for blood thinning precautions due to afib.

2) A year ago, my ophthalmologist detected a very tiny indication for the beginning of macular degeneration (MD) in one eye.…He advised Occuvite mainly for the lutein. So, needless to say, I’ve been very concerned about the MD and have been researching it. I did question him as to if Warfarin or Coumadin might be responsible. His answer was no. (I'm not so sure.)

In defense of aspirin, I must say it seems to have worked – I haven’t had a stroke and with a history of over 400 episodes of afib, I have certainly given fate a chance.

So when the flyer announced aspirin causing blindness, I sat right down to read what he had to say….Dr. David Williams….he has a web site… he produces one of those newsletters designed to point out natural remedies for common conditions and discourage patients from using harmful drugs.

I have a report from the CCF Cardiology Journal that shows the Risk for stroke based recommendations for anticoagulation in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association – released in 2001.

It says for <60 years and no heart disease and lone AF - either take 325 mg. aspirin a day or no therapy. For the same age, but with heart disease but not risk for stroke*, take the same aspirin dose.

for >60 years with no risk factors for stroke – same dose 325 mg aspirin.

for >60 with diabetes or coronary artery disease – take Warfarin, adding 81- 162 mg aspirin daily optional (INR 2 – 3)

>75 – and afib – take warfarin with INR of 2

So - it looks as if aspirin is the drug of choice until one either has a risk factor or becomes age 75.

*Risk factors are heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 35%, and hypertension.

Now, here’s what Dr. Williams says:
(Keep in mind I have now clue as to his credibility or the validity of his statements – but it is food for thought and further research if considering long-term aspirin therapy.)

Excerpting and paraphrasing: “ Doctors are urging millions of Americans to take an aspirin a day to prevent stroke and heart attack. But studies show this can actually increase the risk of these two conditions!

Even worse, new research finds that an aspirin a day can slowly destroy your eyesight, resulting in blindness later in life. Expect doctors to announce an official reversal, but it may not come for quite a while… Read this and take action now….

A major research study in Canada found aspirin a day actually increased the risk of stroke and heart attach in 40% of the people who took it. Three other studies from Germany, Britain and here in the US support the findings.

There is nothing wrong with an occasional aspirin or two for headache or minor pain, but taken regularly – even the enteric coated aspirin can and will cause gastro-intestinal bleeding – which doctors have no way of correcting.

New research shows that long term use of aspirin can make you blind by increasing your risk of macular degeneration and even increase your risk of cataracts by up to 44%. Bad odds. MD is already the leading cause of blindness in people over 55 and there are still no effective treatments." end quotes.

I did a Google search and came up with many links – one specifically said avoid aspirin…other promote aspirin as good to help with diabetic retinopathy by dissolving little clots. More research is needed….meanwhile…. be aware and make informed choices. Other than natural substances…blood thinners appear to be bad news. Perhaps the new one just about to be released will offer afibbers a better option.


Aspirin: Aspirin thins the blood, so some doctors may recommend it for improving blood flow to the retina, but some studies have shown that aspirin actually can cause macular degeneration through retinal hemorrhages. Therefore, try to stay off aspirin.
[www.findarticles.com]


I’m running out of time to do further research regarding the safety factor with using aspirin. If anyone finds validation that aspirin definitely causes macular degeneration, I’d appreciate knowing the web site. Thanks again.

As I always say – knowledge is power…and forewarned is forearmed. Jackie


Here are some index sites:


[www.findarticles.com]

[www.visionworksusa.com]

[www4.infotrieve.com]

[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[content.nejm.org]

[www.findarticles.com]

Greetings
It appears from Google news that a recent French report finds that heart attack victims stopping regular asprin causes heart attacks in some cases.
Please link.
[www.heartcenteronline.com]

Hmm double edged sword.

Chris H

Thanks, Chris, for the link. I'm pretty upset about the early signs of the macular degeneration, but I'd also be upset with a heart attack.

Aspirin - what angers me is very recently, aspirin daily was still emphasized to me. Maybe they think it is the lesser of two evils, but I also think it is because they don't understand other natural products that can keep the blood thin as well.

Jackie

Jackie,

I also happened to receive a copy of Dr. William's article "The Blinding Truth About an Aspirin a Day!" I wish he had given a reference to his assertion that long-term aspirin usage is associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration. I did a MEDLINE search and could find no reference to this. Quite the contrary, I found two references which had found no association between aspirin usage and macular degeneration[1,2]. A small increased risk of cataract formation has, however, been observed among long-term aspirin users[3]. However, there would appear to be no consensus on this though.

One study found that aspirin protects against subcapsular cataract[4] while another study found just the opposite[5].

There is some evidence that warfarin and perhaps aspirin can cause massive bleeding in the eye in people with age-related macular degeneration, so warfarin and macular degeneration is definitely a bad combination[6,7].

There is also evidence that calcium channel blockers are associated with an increased risk of macular degeneration[1].

I personally believe that the adverse effects of long-term use of aspirin and warfarin outweigh their potential benefits (see my book - pages 122-127). I would use neither on a long-term basis, but rely on vitamins C and E, folic acid, ginkgo biloba, fish oils, and moderate exercise to prevent stroke.

Hans

References
---------------
[1] Klein, R, et al. Medication use and the 5-year incidence of early age-related maculopathy. Archives of Ophthalmology, Vol. 119, September 2001, pp. 1354-59
[2] Christen, WG, et al. Age-related maculopathy in a randomized trial of low-dose aspirin among US physicians. Archives of Ophthalmology, Vol. 119, August 2001, pp. 1143-49
[3] Christen, WG, et al. Aspirin use and risk of cataract in posttrial follow-up of Physicians' Health Study I. Archives of Ophthalmology, Vol. 119, March 2001, pp. 405-12
[4] Christen, WG, et al. Low-dose aspirin and risk of cataract and subtypes in a randomized trial of U.S. physicians. Ophthalmic Epidemiology, Vol. 5, No. 3, September 1998, pp. 133-42
[5] Cumming, RG and Mitchell, P. Medications and cataract. Ophthalmology, Vol. 105, September 1998, pp. 1751-58
[6] Tilanus, MA, et al. Relationship between anticoagulant medication and massive intraocular hemorrhage in age-related macular degeneration. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Opthalmol, Vol. 238, June 2000, pp. 482-85
[7] el Baba, F., et al. Massive hemorrhage complicating age-related macular degeneration. Clinicopathologic correlation and role of anticoagulants. Ophthalmology, Vol. 93, December 1986, pp. 1581-92