Who needs to be taking aspirin for cardiovascular protection?
Studies conflict about the benefits for women.
If you've had heart problems or doctors have found evidence of atherosclerosis in your arteries, the advice about aspirin is clear and gender-neutral: A daily dose will reduce your chances of dying from a heart attack or stroke. Although there's still some doubt about the optimal dose, most studies show that small doses are just as effective — and maybe even more so — than large doses, so the standard advice is to take 75 to 162 milligrams (mg) daily. In the United States, low-dose aspirin comes in 81-mg pills.
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