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Stopping Aspirin Intake Raises Risks of Heart Attack

Doctors commonly prescribe daily low-dose aspirin after a heart attack to reduce the risk of having a second cardiovascular event. (Reuters)
Doctors commonly prescribe daily low-dose aspirin after a heart attack to reduce the risk of having a second cardiovascular event. (Reuters)
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Stopping Aspirin Intake Raises Risks of Heart Attack

Doctors commonly prescribe daily low-dose aspirin after a heart attack to reduce the risk of having a second cardiovascular event. (Reuters)
Doctors commonly prescribe daily low-dose aspirin after a heart attack to reduce the risk of having a second cardiovascular event. (Reuters)

Doctors commonly prescribe daily low-dose aspirin after a heart attack to reduce the risk of having a second cardiovascular event.

About one in six patients however stop taking their aspirin within three years, a Swedish study found. It warned against stopping the low dose of aspirin, because it raises the risk of heart attack or stroke by nearly 40 percent.

Lead author of the study Dr. Johan Sundstrom told Reuters Health that low-dose aspirin makes the platelets in the blood less likely to form clots. This is especially useful in the coronary or carotid arteries, where blood clots may lead to myocardial infarctions and strokes.

Sundstrom, an epidemiologist at Uppsala University added that millions of patients worldwide take aspirin on a daily basis and might consider stopping at some time during their life.

“We performed this study to help physicians and patients to make an informed decision whether or not to stop aspirin use,” he explained.

To see if risk rises after a patient stops aspirin therapy, Sundstrom’s team used nationwide medical and death registries to identify patients over age 40 taking low-dose aspirin. In Sweden, low-dose aspirin is available only by prescription, so the researchers were also able to see who continued filling their prescriptions between 2005 and 2009.

The researchers analyzed records for 601,527 patients, who were cancer-free and had taken at least 80 percent of their prescribed aspirin doses during the first year of treatment. After excluding a small proportion of patients whose medical records showed a reason for stopping aspirin, such as surgery or a case of severe bleeding, they found that about 15 percent of the full group had stopped taking their aspirin after about three years.

At the end of the study period, there were a total of 62,690 cardiovascular events, defined as hospitalization for a heart attack or stroke, or cardiovascular death.

The study lead author said patients who discontinued aspirin had a 37 percent higher rate of cardiovascular events than those who continued. That translates to one extra cardiovascular event each year among every 74 patients who stopped taking aspirin.

The risk increased shortly after discontinuation, and did not appear to diminish over time, he added.

“Adherence to low-dose aspirin treatment in the absence of major surgery or bleeding is likely an important treatment goal,” stressed Sundstrom.

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Flower Lovers, Influencers Flock to the Tulip Vistas at an Iconic Dutch Park

Farmers use acrylic cloth for insulation to grow tulips earlier in the season near Lisse, Netherlands, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Farmers use acrylic cloth for insulation to grow tulips earlier in the season near Lisse, Netherlands, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Flower Lovers, Influencers Flock to the Tulip Vistas at an Iconic Dutch Park

Farmers use acrylic cloth for insulation to grow tulips earlier in the season near Lisse, Netherlands, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Farmers use acrylic cloth for insulation to grow tulips earlier in the season near Lisse, Netherlands, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Nestled among tulip fields not far from Amsterdam, the world-famous Keukenhof garden has opened for the spring, welcoming camera-wielding visitors to its increasingly selfie-friendly grounds.

On a sunny day, the paths, park benches and cafes are crowded with tourists taking photos and selfies with one of the Netherlands’ most iconic products — the tulip. Those kinds of pics, posted on social media, are what drew Austrian lawyer Daniel Magnus.

“Whenever you see the kind of pictures which were taken from an influencer, they make something with you. You get a new impression of new locations, traditions, people and so on .... You want also to be there,” Magnus told The Associated Press.

Magnus had just finished taking his own photos on a small boat, staged in one of the park’s canals for visitors to take their own Instagrammable images.

Staff plant and nurture a staggering 7 million flower bulbs to ensure visitors who flock to the Keukenhof from around the world all get to see a vibrant spectacle during the just eight weeks the garden is open.

In recent years, the garden has increasingly catered to the public’s thirst for social media content and created spaces where guests are encouraged to pose.

Selfie spots include flower archways, pink velvet couches and another Dutch classic - oversized wooden clogs.

The Keukenhof’s own social media channels have some suggestions about the best locations and the Dutch tourism board even advises on how to get the perfect tulip selfie.

“Make your image come alive and place the subject of your photo slightly off-centre. This will make your photo look more dynamic,” the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions says.

The Keukenhof garden’s more than 1 million expected visitors don’t need too much encouragement to snap pics among the tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and myriad other flowers. The blossoms are meticulously handplanted throughout its manicured lawns by a small army of gardeners.

“There’s always something blooming. I think that’s the reason why everyone is happy. There’s also always something to see,” gardener Patrick van Dijk told the AP.

Not everyone is always happy with tourists taking photos. Some flower farmers have put up signs and barriers to deter aspiring influencers from trampling tulips in nearby fields.

Italian tulips Tulip fields have started becoming a popular draw elsewhere in Europe. Dutchman Edwin Koeman, who comes from a family of tulip bulb traders, started growing the flowers after moving to an area north of Milan with his family.

“The land here is good. It’s more the climate which is very different to Holland,” Koeman said in an interview on his field in the small Italian town of Arese. “Here, the winter is a bit shorter, we have more sunshine. But for our work, it’s good because it rains just enough in the winter and in the spring. And now in the spring, most of the time it’s sunny, so people like to come to our field.”

Last year, his field had a record of 50,000 visitors, many enjoying the chance to pick tulips themselves to fill their baskets. They’ve started arriving this year and, on April 1, Viola Guidi was among those picking through Koeman’s field.

“Every year I come here together with my friends, even several times,” she said. “Usually we have to hurry, because the best flowers are all picked within a few weeks. We managed to come close to the opening, a week later. This time it worked out really well for me. It’s beautiful.”

Italy grows 43 million tulips, exporting almost one-third of them, according to Nada Forbici, national coordinator of the Coldiretti floriculture council. Exports are aimed mainly at northern Europe, especially Netherlands, she said.