A blood clot deep in the veins is called a thromboembolism. Nearly one million people experience this potentially life-threatening condition each year. A person who has had one deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is at substantial risk for another. A new study from Italy has shown that low-dose aspirin reduces the risk of a recurrence by about 40 percent.
Traditionally, the anticoagulant warfarin has been the standard treatment. It is effective but difficult to manage and can lead to dangerous bleeding episodes. In this study patients took warfarin for 18 months after the initial blood clot and then discontinued it when they were assigned to either aspirin or placebo. Aspirin was less likely to cause complications and may offer an inexpensive preventive strategy against recurrent DVTs.
[New Engl. J. Med., May 24, 2012]