A cardiologist with the
Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Tina Anya, on Tuesday in Abuja advised
Nigerians against indiscriminate use of aspirin, saying it could cause
stroke.
Anya, who gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, urged the public to consult
a doctor before using such drugs as aspirin because of the health risks involved.
According to the
cardiologist, aspirin can be used for pain relief, to suppress fevers
and inflammation like arthritis and to prevent strokes and coronary
heart diseases.
“We need to tailor our
prescriptions to our particular patients we see. In Nigeria we cannot
give any generalisation concerning any drug because it would be abused.
“Our society is not learned
enough to be able to take decisions about prescription drugs. Aspirin
is a drug that has it pluses but also has its disadvantages.
“When your blood pressure is not controlled and you take aspirin, you put yourself at risk of bleeding.
“So the aspirin that is
supposed to be preventing you from having strokes and heart attacks may
cause you to have a different type of stoke because you are dissolving
clots that maybe protecting you at that time because your blood pressure
is not controlled.”
Anya explained that aspirin
had anti-platelet functions and that “platelets are cells in the blood
that form clots; that is why we use aspirin in the prevention of strokes
and coronary heart diseases.”
She said that aspirin could be used for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular or heart diseases.
She explained that aspirin could be used
for primary prevention when prescribed for patients with no previous
history of cardio-vascular disease.
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