Of all the medications available on the market today, perhaps none are as well known as aspirin.
With its roots of use as medicine going back to circa 3,000 B.C., the compound salicylic acid, derived from willow root, is today packaged and sold in every drug store across the country (per The Pharmaceutical Journal).
And although many people take aspirin only as a cure for headaches or inflammation, other folks never leave their medicine cabinets unstocked. Approximately 30 million Americans over the age of 40 take aspirin every day, with the widespread use of it for its potential benefits in reducing the risk of heart disease, as Science Daily discusses.
But here's the thing: According to the same research, well over 6 million U.S. adults take aspirin every day without their doctor recommending they do so. And here's where things might become problematic. Despite aspirin being widely lauded for its benefits for cardiovascular health in some adults, taking it daily can come with a whole host of side effects that you might rather not have. And we're here to lay them all out for you.
If you have a history of heart conditions, aspirin could help bolster your heart health
Millions of people worldwide take aspirin for a wide range of effects, but perhaps the most well known of them is the medicine's effects on the heart. And it is indeed true that taking low doses of aspirin (also known as baby aspirin) can reduce your risk of a cardiovascular event, in some cases at least (per the Cleveland Clinic).
"If you've had a heart attack, or a stent, or bypass surgery, or some other manifestation of coronary heart disease, then aspirin is recommended in order to prevent a recurrent event," says Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute chief academic officer and cardiologist Steven Nissen. This is thanks to the medicine's anti-clotting effects, reducing the ability of your platelets to stick together and coagulate, and therefore keeping your arteries clear of any obstructions that could cause another incident.
However, this may only be useful if you've already experienced a heart condition or event. The idea that aspirin can be taken by anyone without risk is a false one, according to Nissen, who says that "there has been evidence for many years that for patients who have never had a cardiovascular event, taking daily aspirin poses as many risks as benefits." If you're thinking about taking aspirin every day, talk with your doctor about whether it will have any real benefit.
Your aspirin might be causing liver damage
Taking aspirin is not without its risks, and your organs could be one of the areas in your body that feels the impact. More specifically, your liver may come under stress and potentially sustain damage if you're taking aspirin daily, according to research published in LiverTox.
When especially high doses of aspirin are taken, hepatoxicity (also known as toxic liver disease) can occur, where toxins form in the organ as it tries to process the medication in your blood and end up damaging it (per WebMD). This can lead to different types of liver damage, as well as symptoms like jaundice.
It's worth pointing out, however, that the LiverTox research indicates that liver damage that's been observed as a result of aspirin is generally short-lived, and in the grand scheme of things, mild. Liver function will generally return to normal following injury as a result of taking aspirin, and more severe instances of liver damage, like acute liver failure or chronic liver injury, have yet to be observed as a direct result of ingesting the medication. Nonetheless, it's sensible to stick to the recommended dosage of aspirin and to be aware of its potential impact.
