I am worried about the side effects of taking aspirin, so I take it for half a month and stop for half a month. Can this prevent the recurrence of cerebral infarction?

A friend told Huazi that he suffered a cerebral infarction and was taking aspirin to prevent the recurrence of the disease. However, he heard that long-term use of aspirin has side effects, so he wanted to take it for half a month and stop for half a month. He wondered if this would still be effective in preventing the recurrence of cerebral infarction?

Huazi told him that aspirin needs to be taken every day to prevent the recurrence of cerebral infarction. If it is taken intermittently, although the occurrence of adverse reactions is reduced, the effect of preventing diseases is also lost. Comparing the two, the gains do not outweigh the losses. If you are worried about the adverse reactions of aspirin, or have related contraindications, you can use drugs to protect the gastric mucosa under the guidance of a doctor, or replace it with other antiplatelet drugs with fewer side effects.

1. Patients with cerebral infarction need to receive antiplatelet therapy. Cerebral infarction is a very dangerous disease. Its mechanism is the blockage of arteries in the brain, which causes the death of brain nerve cells. Once nerve cells die, there is currently no way to revive them, and the mortality and disability rates are very high.

The rupture of atherosclerotic plaques induces platelet aggregation to form thrombi, which is the main cause of cerebral infarction. Atherosclerosis can affect multiple arteries, and once it occurs, it cannot be completely eliminated, and the probability of recurrence is very high. The recurrence rate of cerebral infarction patients within 5 years is more than 25%.

Therefore, patients with cerebral infarction must receive drug treatment to prevent the recurrence of cerebral infarction. There are two types of preventive drugs. One is statins that stabilize plaques and prevent plaque rupture. The other is antiplatelet drugs represented by aspirin that inhibit platelet aggregation.

Aspirin can irreversibly inhibit platelet aggregation, but the body's platelets are renewed by 10-15% every day. If the drug is discontinued for more than 48 hours, the effect of preventing thrombosis will disappear. Therefore, it is necessary to take the drug every day to inhibit the formation of new platelets.

2. Aspirin may cause digestive tract damage The pharmacological mechanism of aspirin is to inhibit the cyclooxygenase on platelets. However, cyclooxygenase also exists in other cells of the human body and will also be inhibited by aspirin, which will result in a decrease in the production of endogenous prostaglandins in the human body, causing the gastric mucosa to lose the protection of prostaglandins, and the probability of digestive tract damage will increase by 2 to 4 times.

Therefore, the main adverse reaction of aspirin is damage to the digestive tract, which may cause gastric ulcers, bleeding, and even perforation. Therefore, before using aspirin, an evaluation is required. Only those who have a clear indication and need to use aspirin can use it, and aspirin should not be abused as a health product.

3. How to reduce the adverse reactions of aspirin 1. Use the lowest effective dose: Prevention of cerebral infarction requires long-term medication. Aspirin should be maintained at the lowest dose, usually 75~100 mg per day.

2. Taking enteric-coated tablets on an empty stomach: Aspirin itself has a direct irritation to the gastric mucosa. Choosing enteric-coated tablets and taking them on an empty stomach can allow the tablets to pass through the stomach quickly, releasing the drugs in the intestines, and avoiding direct irritation to the gastric mucosa.

3. Combined medication to protect gastric mucosa: People at high risk of gastrointestinal damage can use antacids to reduce gastric acid secretion, gastric mucosal protectors and other drugs under the guidance of a doctor, which can significantly reduce the damage of aspirin to the gastrointestinal tract.

4. Cure Helicobacter pylori infection: Before taking the medicine, you should test whether Helicobacter pylori infection exists. If infected, you should cure it before taking the medicine.

5. Avoid using it in combination with other stomach-damaging drugs: During medication, try to avoid using it in combination with glucocorticoids, other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and other drugs that can damage the gastric mucosa. If combined use is necessary, do so under the guidance of a doctor.

6. Monitor adverse reactions: If you experience abdominal discomfort, stomach pain, vomiting blood, black stools, etc. during medication, seek medical attention immediately.

7. Use alternative drugs: For those who cannot tolerate aspirin, other antiplatelet drugs that have less impact on the digestive tract, such as clopidogrel and ticagrelor, can be used as substitutes under the guidance of a doctor.

To sum up, patients with cerebral infarction need to take aspirin regularly to prevent the recurrence of the disease in order to play an effective preventive role. If you take it intermittently, you will lose the protection of the drug. For patients with cerebral infarction, the benefits of taking aspirin far outweigh the risks of adverse reactions, so you need to insist on taking the medicine. Using drugs under the guidance of a doctor can reduce the probability of adverse reactions. If you have any doubts about the use of drugs, you should consult a doctor or pharmacist in time. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.