Aspirin a day? Before you start (or stop) read further ...

Do you take an aspirin a day?

I used to, sometimes in combination with Plavix or warfarin as physician-directed. Aspirin sellers, of course, pitch this idea in advertising. I stopped taking it after a heart procedure that reduced my stroke risk and, with no other risk factors aside from age, my cardiologist told me it's not necessary.

Turns out that lots of people take a daily aspirin to prevent a stroke or heart attack. One recent story says a daily aspirin is taken by more than half of older U.S. adults:

Most appear to start taking daily aspirin after discussing the matter with a health care provider, said study lead author Craig Williams, a pharmacotherapy specialist at Oregon State University in Portland.

Drug combo may reduce risk of second stroke

I was on aspirin and Plavix for several years to prevent a second stroke. I eventually had a mini-stroke (or a transient ischemic attack) anyway. Still, more info to discuss with your own doctor. Check out this article about how a study shows this drug combo may reduce risk of second stroke:

After suffering a stroke or a mini-stroke, patients are usually given aspirin to prevent clots that can cause another stroke. Now a new study suggests that adding the drug Plavix (clopidogrel) to the mix can reduce the risk of a second stroke by nearly a third over aspirin alone. ...

"Giving two drugs that block platelets works a lot better than aspirin alone in people who have had a minor stroke or TIA," said researcher Dr. S. Claiborne Johnston, a professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

The trial was done in China, so whether the results would be the same in the United States isn't known. "They probably are, but we would like to see them confirmed," Johnston said.