Aspirin can prevent blood clots from developing in addition to alleviating pain, decreasing temperature, and reducing inflammation. By targeting the body's tiniest blood cells, taking aspirin on a daily basis reduces the tendency of your blood to clump together and form clots. When platelets come into contact with injured blood arteries, they bond together. While aspirin's "blood-thinning" properties can help you avoid heart attacks and strokes, they can also put you at risk for other dangerous events

Aspirin, like most drugs, has side effects. It irritates the lining of your stomach, causing gastrointestinal distress, ulcers, and bleeding. It can also be problematic for persons who are at a higher risk of bleeding since it thins their blood

Previous US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines advised against taking aspirin for primary heart disease prevention unless you're at an elevated risk, such as if you're 50 to 69 years old and have a 10% or higher chance of having a heart attack or stroke in the following 10 years

The Women's Health Study was a big study that looked into whether women without a history of heart disease would benefit from taking low-dose aspirin. Aspirin did not lessen the chance of heart attacks in the total group of women, but it did raise the risk of bleeding, according to the researchers. Women over the age of 65 benefited in some ways