From Our 2011 Archives Aspirin May Reduce Risk of Repeat Blood
Clots Latest Heart News Study Finds Daily Aspirin May Slash
Repeat Clots in Veins by 40% By Kathleen Doheny Reviewed by
Laura J. Martin, MD One doctor went so far as to call the
preliminary study a potential "game changer." The clots, known
as venous thromboembolism or VTE, often occur in the legs. They
can travel to the lungs and sometimes be fatal. "With aspirin, a
drug that is low cost, safe, and available worldwide, we can
reduce by 40% the incidence of the recurrence of VTE," says
Cecilia Becattini, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine
at the University of Perugia in Italy. She presented her
findings at a news conference at the annual meeting of the
American Society of Hematology in San Diego. Blood Clots:
Numbers, Risks VTE occurs in about 800,000 people in North
America every year, Becattini says. If the blood clot travels,
it sometimes can block an artery to the lung, causing chest pain
and severe shortness of breath If not treated