Aspirin Is Associated With Heart Failure Risk

Aspirin is associated with a risk of heart failure (HF) for individuals with at least 1 predisposing factor for the condition, results of a study published in ESC Heart Failure, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology, show.

"This is the first study to report that among individuals with a least 1 risk factor for heart failure, those taking aspirin were more likely to subsequently develop the condition than those not using the medication,” Blerim Mujaj, MD, PhD, of the University of Freiburg, Germany, said in a statement. "While the findings require confirmation, they do indicate that the potential link between aspirin and heart failure needs to be clarified.”

Investigators assessed the association between aspirin use and HF after adjusting for age, alcohol use, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, body mass index, cardiovascular disease, creatinine, diabetes, gender, heart rate, hypertension, smoking, and treatment with beta and calcium channel blockers, diuretics, lipid-lowering drugs, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system inhibitors.

Taking aspirin was independently associated with a 26% raised risk of a new HF diagnosis.

To check the consistency of the results, investigators repeated the analysis after matching aspirin non-users and users for HF risk factors, and aspirin was still associated with a 26% increased risk of a new HF diagnosis.

They then repeated the analysis after excluding individuals with a history of cardiovascular disease and found aspirin use was associated with a 27% increased risk of incident HF.

The analysis included 30,827 individuals at risk for developing HF who were enrolled from the United States and Western Europe into the HOMAGE study. In the third part of the study, 22,690 who did not have cardiovascular disease and 8698 individuals who took aspirin participated.

By the 5.3-year follow-up, 1330 individuals developed HF.

“Risk” was defined as 1 or more predisposing factors: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, obesity, and smoking.

Aspirin use was recorded at enrollment, and individuals were classified as non-users or users. Investigators followed up with individuals for the first incidence of fatal or non-fatal HF requiring hospitalization.

Reference

Aspirin is linked with increased risk of heart failure in some. ScienceDaily. News release. November 23, 2021. Accessed November 24, 2021. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211123131434.htm