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Treatment with antiplatelet drugs — most often aspirin — for an indefinite period is a cornerstone of secondary vascular prevention, but concerns of care providers about its long-term safety and of patients about the need for long-term use have contributed to suboptimal long-term adherence rates. However, mounting evidence suggests that discontinuation of aspirin may boost the risk for cardiovascular events.
To assess the extent of this risk, researchers tracked hospitalizations for ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) over an average of 3.4 years among 39,512 patients aged 50 to 84 who were registered in a U.K. primary care database. The investigators compared the rates of discontinuation of an initial low-dose (75–300 mg/day)…