Long used for the treatment of pain, fever and relief from arthritis, acetylsalicylic acid, or ASA (as found in Entrophen® or Aspirin®), is gaining in popularity as a way to protect against heart attack and certain kinds of stroke. But to achieve that heart-protective benefit, you need the right dose of ASA. This is why it's important to speak to your doctor first about the benefits of ASA for your heart.
Small doses are key
Small doses are key if ASA is being used to protect against heart attack.
At small doses--such as one Entrophen® 325-mg tablet every other day--ASA works not as a fever or pain reliever, but as an "anti-platelet" drug or "blood thinner." In people with diseased or damaged arteries, clots may form, cutting off the blood supply to vital organs such as the brain or heart. The first step in the clotting process is a clumping or aggregation of blood platelets.
If that clump becomes big enough, it blocks the blood flow to critical organs, resulting in such problems as a heart attack or the most common type of stroke known as "ischemic" stroke. In small doses, ASA makes platelets less sticky and, as a result, blood is less likely to clot and obstructions in arteries are less likely to occur.