flammatory drug (NSAID), and researchers continue to work on reducing its gastrointestinal side-effects while maintaining optimal dosage levels for its beneficial health aspects. Aspirin has also recently been linked to reducing the risk of lung cancer in addition to its benefits regarding colon cancer. Recent studies by the National Cancer Institute show that aspirin not only helps prevent heart attack and stroke, but it is beneficial in reducing the risk of two types of cancer that are often difficult to treat, “Research indicates that aspirin may inhibit the growth and multiplication of lung adenomas and cancers, and evidence is building that the drug prevents colorectal polyps from forming and becoming colon cancer” (Nelson 1). The focus of this analysis will be on aspirin’s beneficial health affects with regard to heart attack and stroke. Pro and con studies will be used to support its efficacy in this area of health maintenance. A conclusion will address the likely future of aspirin research in relation to human health.
Felix Hoffman worked for Bayer when he synthesized acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). However, the Romans extracted salicylic acid from the bark of white willow trees centuries ago. Aspirin is commonly used for the more than 160 known varieties of headaches because it reduces the production of prostaglandins that cause inflammation in the body (Linton 1). Aspirin, however, has reinvented itself many times in its history. Aspirin was touted in ads in the 1920s as having no affect on the heart. However, in the late 1940s a physician reported that of the 400 patients to whom he prescribed aspirin none experienced a heart attack. Studies on the physician’s findings confirmed his reports and in today’s health picture, aspirin is perceived as a cardiac miracle drug, “Recent studies show that daily ASA prevents a first heart attack and reduces the risk of a second by 30%. Over the last 12 years, more...