“Aspirin has been used in many different treatments for a variety of medical issues,” says Deena Adimoolam, MD, an endocrinologist at Mount Sinai in New York City. “But predominantly, it’s mainly for diseases related to heart disease.” She adds that you might also consider taking aspirin if you have a history of strokes. “Aspirin is an anti-platelet agent. It thins the blood, and it helps prevent blood clotting,” says Jennifer Shrodes, RD, CDE, who is on the diabetes education staff at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. If you’re managing type 2 diabetes, aspirin might be helpful for warding off future health complications, too. In addition, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that people with diabetes be assessed annually for any cardiovascular disease risk factors, including hypertension, smoking, and a family history of premature heart disease. So does that mean aspirin can help prevent those complications? The answer is complicated, and ultimately it depends on whether you’re aiming to prevent a first occurrence of heart disease or prevent a pre-existing diagnosis of the disease from worsening, Dr. Adimoolam says. If you have diabetes and are looking to prevent heart disease, you may not benefit from taking aspirin daily. But if you have diabetes and are looking to manage heart disease due to a personal history of the ailment, taking aspirin may help boost your heart health and prevent heart disease from progressing. That’s in line with the 2019 guidelines from the ADA, advising aspirin therapy — 75 to 162 milligrams (mg) per day — if you have diabetes and are at an increased risk for heart disease. This recommendation applies to most men and women ages 50 and older who have one or more major risk factors for heart disease — including a family history of the disease, hypertension, or dyslipidemia — and who aren’t at risk of bleeding.
Can Taking Aspirin Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes?
Also worth noting is if you’re at risk for diabetes or have been diagnosed with prediabetes, the precursor to type 2 diabetes, aspirin isn’t a proven approach to prevent the full-blown form of the disease. Research that looked at almost 40,000 women over the course of 10 years suggests that women who take low-dose aspirin are not any less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women who do not. RELATED: More Evidence That Eating Whole Grains May Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
When You Shouldn’t Take Aspirin While Managing Diabetes
Independent of type 2 diabetes, some people should avoid aspirin therapy altogether, including those individuals with anemia or renal disease, Shrodes says. Adimoolam agrees, noting that aspirin can increase bleeding risk, so people who have these and other bleeding disorders should not take aspirin. In fact, according to a randomized, controlled trial published in October 2018 in the New England Journal of Medicine, people with type 2 diabetes who received 100 mg of aspirin daily appeared to have fewer heart events than the placebo group. But of the two groups, the daily aspirin takers had higher rates of major bleeding events. Researchers followed 15,480 participants over a mean follow-up of 7.4 years. Separately, if your doctor determines that you are allergic or hypersensitive to aspirin, you should skip out on this treatment, Adimoolam says. “Aspirin is such an easy thing to get and to take, but it’s always a good idea to check with your physician,” says Shrodes. She adds that the elderly population in particular should be cautious about trying aspirin therapy. RELATED: The Facts About Iron-Deficiency Anemia and Your Heart
5 Ways to Help Prevent Heart Disease if You’re Managing Type 2 Diabetes
So what if you have type 2 diabetes and want to reduce your risk of heart disease without aspirin therapy? Luckily, the following steps may help: 1. Watch your salt intake to avoid high blood pressure. Try to cap your daily sodium intake at about 2,300 mg, which is about 1 teaspoon, Shrodes says. Be sure to check the nutrition labels of your foods, and be mindful that high sodium content is common in packaged snacks such as potato chips, corn chips, popcorn, granola bars, and the like. 2. Limit your consumption of processed saturated fats. These are the type of fats found in processed meats like cured turkey and ham, sausage, and bacon. Instead, reach for polyunsaturated fats, which you can find in foods like nuts (consider walnuts or almonds), avocados, and oils made from plants (like olive oil) and seeds, Shrodes says. Foods with polyunsaturated fats can help fill you up, and when you replace saturated fats with them, they may help lower your risk of heart disease by about 30 percent, according to an article published in June 2017 in Circulation. That’s similar to the risk reduction seen in people who take statins, the authors note. 3. Be sure to exercise regularly. “The heart is a muscle and needs to be exercised at least 150 minutes weekly,” says Adimoolam, echoing recommendations for moderate-intensity exercise from the CDC, which notes that all adults should incorporate regular physical activity into their lifestyles. The CDC advises that if you can’t get those 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, aim for 75 minutes, which equals 1 hour and 15 minutes, of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. But it’s important to be mindful of any pre-existing diabetes complications you may have, like neuropathy, which may lead to foot damage, and make sure you get the all clear from your doctor before you start a new exercise regimen. RELATED: The Health Benefits of Exercising With Neuropathy and How to Do It Safely 4. Talk to your doctor about medications to control high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Both are risk factors for diabetes, Adimoolam says. Because high cholesterol and high blood pressure are associated with a greater risk for heart disease, it’s crucial to keep these health measures in mind. While following a healthy diet and exercising regularly can help control and prevent these risk factors, both high cholesterol and high blood pressure may also have a genetic component. Taking medications can help you manage these factors if your doctor determines they are an issue for you. 5. Try your best to quit smoking. The habit is another risk factor for heart disease, Adimoolam says. The CDC points out that more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease linked to smoking, and currently, tobacco causes 6 million deaths each year. (By 2030, researchers project that tobacco will cause 8 million annual deaths.) Another reason to quit? Smoking can make managing diabetes harder, too, and potentially double your risk of death.
The Bottom Line on Aspirin Therapy and Other Ways to Help Prevent Heart Disease
Ultimately, “exercise and nutrition can have a huge impact on heart health and diabetes management,” Shrodes says. But according to the ADA’s latest guidelines, aspirin therapy may be appropriate for you if you’re managing the disease and may be at a greater risk for heart disease. When in doubt, consult your diabetes healthcare team when considering a change to your management plan, she adds. That way, you’ll be able to manage any risk factors in the most responsible and healthful way possible.
