Skip Navigation


European Heart Journal Advance Access originally published online on June 29, 2007
European Heart Journal 2007 28(16):1925-1927; doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehm248
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
28/16/1925    most recent
ehm248v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nicolucci, A.
Right arrow Articles by Tognoni, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nicolucci, A.
Right arrow Articles by Tognoni, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The European Society of Cardiology 2007. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

AHA/ADA vs. ESC/EASD recommendations on aspirin as a primary prevention strategy in people with diabetes: how the same data generate divergent conclusions

Antonio Nicolucci*, Giorgia De Berardis, Michele Sacco and Gianni Tognoni

Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Epidemiology, Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, Via Nazionale, 66030 S. Maria Imbaro (CH), Italy

Received 28 February 2007; revised 26 April 2007; accepted 18 May 2007; online publish-ahead-of-print 29 June 2007.

* Corresponding author. Tel: +39 0872 570260; fax: +39 0872 570263. E-mail address: nicolucci{at}negrisud.it

Recently, major scientific societies in Europe and USA have issued guidelines on diabetes and cardiovascular (CV) disease. The conclusions of the two panels of experts regarding the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of CV disease in individuals with diabetes are totally divergent. The US statement recommends the use of aspirin for primary prevention in all individuals aged > 40 or with additional risk factors. In contrast, in the European guidelines there is no mention of aspirin for the primary prevention of myocardial infarction or CV death, while it is recommended for the prevention of stroke. Both recommendations seem mainly based on extrapolations from data on other high-risk groups, rather than on a comprehensive review of pertinent data. Actually, a body of evidence suggests that the efficacy of aspirin in patients with diabetes is substantially lower than in individuals without diabetes. Nevertheless, existing knowledge is mainly derived from dated trials, including small numbers of patients, and hardly representing current strategies for the management of CV risk factors. The high level of uncertainty regarding the balance between benefits and risks of aspirin therapy have important implications for clinical practice, auditing activities, and the design and conduct of randomized clinical trials.

Key Words: Aspirin • Diabetes mellitus • Primary prevention • Cardiovascular disease


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.