Aspirin increases the risk of heart failure by 26 pc, says new study

By Team Newsable | First Published Nov 29, 2021, 10:30 AM IST

This was the first large-scale study to examine the relationship between aspirin use and heart failure in individuals with and without heart disease

Taking aspirin increases the risk of heart failure by 26 per cent, new international research has revealed. Besides aspirin, other factors that contribute to heart failure include smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. The research findings were published in the 'ESC Heart Failure Journal'.

Study author Dr Blerim Mujaz from the University of Freiburg, Germany, said, 'This is the first study to show that people who are at risk of heart failure may get it by taking aspirin. The potential for heart failure may increase when compared to those who do not take aspirin.'

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While the findings still need to be authenticated, Dr Blerim said that aim of this study was to evaluate whether its relationship with heart failure in people with and without heart disease and also to find out whether drug use is related to new diagnoses of heart failure in people at risk.

The research included 30,827 individuals of 40 years of age or older and at risk of heart failure, who were enrolled in the HOMEAGE study from Western Europe and the Americas. Candidates in the 'at-risk' were grouped as having at least one of the following issues -- smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. Aspirin use was noted at the time of joining of research and participants were classified as users or non-users. Participants were followed for the first event of fatal or non-fatal heart failure requiring hospitalization.

The average age of the research participants was 67 years old and 34 per cent were female. It was found that a baseline, at least 7,698 participants (25 per cent) were taking aspirin. During a 5.3-year follow-up, 1,330 participants had developed heart failure. The investigators studied aspirin use and incidence of heart failure after adjusting for gender, age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, creatinine, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and renin in the heart. The relationship between failure was assessed.

The analysis was repeated by researchers after matching aspirin users and non-users for heart failure risk factors. In this matched analysis, aspirin was associated with a 26 per cent increased risk of heart failure. To further examine the results, the analysis was repeated after excluding patients with a history of cardiovascular disease. In 22,690 participants (74 per cent) free of heart disease, aspirin use had a 27 per cent increased risk of heart failure.

According to Dr Mujaz, this was the first large study to examine the relationship between aspirin use and heart failure in individuals with and without heart disease. One in four participants in the research was found to be taking aspirin. They concluded that a large-scale study is needed to confirm this. Until then, aspirin should be given with caution, he said.

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