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Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc., January 2015 fhea.com
News Briefs
its use as well as important safety information.
Suvorexant is a product of Merck, Sharpe & Dohme.
Daily Aspirin Likely Used Inappropriately
by Over 10% of Americans
A recent study found that many Americans who are
taking daily low-dose aspirin for primary prevention
of heart attack or stroke likely should not be taking it
because their risk of heart attack or stroke is not high
enough to outweigh the risks of daily aspirin use.
The study, led by Ravi Hira, MD, of Baylor College
of Medicine, sought to examine the frequency and
practice-level variation in inappropriate aspirin use
for primary prevention in a large nationwide registry.
The study was published in the Journal of the Ameri-
can College of Cardiology (2015;65:111-121).
The researchers assessed 68,808 patients within
the National Cardiovascular Disease Registry's Prac-
tice Innovation and Clinical Excellence registry who
were receiving aspirin therapy for primary preven-
tion in 119 American practices. The frequency of in-
appropriate aspirin use was calculated for primary
prevention—that is, aspirin use in those with a 10-
year cardiovascular disease risk of at least 6%. They
found that the inappropriate aspirin use frequency
was 11.6% in the overall cohort. There were signifi-
cant practice-level variations.
Women and younger patients are more likely than
men and adults over age 65 to be taking aspirin in-
appropriately. Because aspirin is available without
prescription, patient choice rather than provider rec-
ommendation may be contributing to inappropriate
aspirin use for primary prevention, the researchers
note, and they advise discussing the risks and bene-
fits of aspirin use with patients.
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NP Certification Exam
A free 75-minute presentation:
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or Live Webinar:
March 3, 2015 8
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Learn the best practices for preparing for
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and practicing NPs who are not certified
View at Online On Demand
or attend the Live Webinar
Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc.
Enhance Your Lung
Function Assessment
Skills
FHEA Offer of the Month
10% off in February
Demystifying Pulmonary
Function Testing
Available Online or DVD
Offer ends February 28, 2015
Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc.
C
ontinued from page 13