[at-l] aspirin and such (I'm too dumb to figure out NSAIDS)

[icw at esisnet.com (Clark Wright)]

seein folks talk about aspirin and bleeding and such, I had to throw my 
two cents in . . . [and I did stay in a holiday inn express last night, 
or at least my doctor Dad once did! :)]

1)  aspirin is the oldest, and - for most people - the safest drug in 
the world . . . however, like anything that "goes bump in the night" 
(i.e., does something to you), there are some for who it is 
inappropriate.  For those who can tolerate it, however, there is a 
continual stream of good news . . .

2)  The latest on aspirin is that there is new medical research 
suggesting that various forms of cell-level inflammation may be tied to 
all kinds of diseases, from heart disease to diabetes, to many others . 
. . some incredibly interesting (to me, at least) new research suggests 
that it is inflammation in the lining of our blood vessels that causes 
most heart attacks, and that the role of cholesterol is mostly one of 
providing food for certain bacteria that inflame the walls of these 
vessels.  Yes, before you fill the list with rebuttals, there is clearly 
a link between cholesterol and hard (calcium type compounds involved) 
buildups in the arteries, and for people with that condition, where 
blockages are occurring, bypass surgery and stents and angioplasty are 
still good tools to use - but they do not anwer the more pressing 
question about the other 70% of heart attack victims who do not have any 
clogged arteries (at least not prior to the heart attack, that is!).  
What the new research suggests is that certain common bacteria (from the 
C-Pneumonae family, I think) often get into our bodies (recent estimates 
put the figure at 70+ percent have this bacteria inside by the age of 
something like 60) and take up residence in the blood vessel walls, 
feeding on "soft" cholesterols and engaging in low to medium level wars 
with our immune systems . . . it is now postulated that the majority of 
heart attacks that occur without prior arterial clogging symptoms are 
due to these inflammations going out of control, with the bacteria 
eating thru the blood vessel wall and into the blood stream, thereby 
causing an acute clog and heart attack . . .

I can't think of the doc's name who has just written a book on this 
topic, but I do recall the summary of his advice, based on the growing 
body of evidence re the link between inflammation and heart disease, and 
other diseases - and, as you might guess, the first piece of advice is 
to take a baby sized does of aspirin every single day for the rest of 
your life, man or woman, old or young - as long as your stomach can 
stand it, and there are no other contraindications due to other medical 
probems or contra-indicated medications.  His second piece of advice for 
those in their 40s and over is to get a blood test for C-Pnemonae 
bacteria and, if positive, to take a regimen of antibiotics to get rid 
of the bacteria.  His third, and most controversial, piece of advice is 
for just about everyone that can tolerate them to take one of the common 
statin drugs on a prophylactic basis - he also recommends that the FDA 
allow these to be sold over the counter . . .  anyhow, some interesting 
stuff here, and we all know that inflammation problems of all kinds are 
hiking related! :)

3)  One other thing you may not know about ye olde aspirin - it can 
really help reduce your ability to sunburn - aspirin improves the 
circulatory systems efficieny, which also serves to improve your body's 
ability to cool itself through capillary action near the skin surface . . .

I take an aspirin every day, and plan to for the rest of my life - but 
on the trail, when the going gets tough, I switch to ibuprofen, which 
for me is a wonder drug . . . it even kills my occasional stress-induced 
migraines . . . ibuprofen, however, is not as safe as aspirin - remember 
Alonzo Mourning's near death experience?

Well, that's enough medical thinking for my poor brain - I might have to 
either take an aspirin, or get the wild turkey out! :)

thru-thinker