Previous studies have indicated that taking an aspirin a day may reduce the chance of a heart attack by half.
UBS researchers analyzed trials from 23 international studies involving 113,000 patients on the effectiveness of taking an aspirin regularly. They suggest that men are more likely to benefit from taking the pill regularly than women.
"For people without risk factors who haven't had heart attacks in the past ... Aspirin in women is not very effective. In fact, it's not effective. Whereas it seems to be quite effective in preventing heart attacks in men", says co-author Dr. Don Sin, an assistant professor of medicine at UBC, according to The Star.
It is not clear why this may be so. One theory puts it down to the physiological differences between men and women.
"Men tend to have heart attacks when built-up plaque breaks off an arterial wall and causes a clot in an important vessel. In women, plaque is thought to wear away at coronary arteries, causing them to spasm shut and prompting a heart attack", reports The Star.
The latest findings are not supported by all medical professionals. According to Dr. Beth Abramson, a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, women develop heart disease seven to 10 years after men do and any study needs to take into consideration the age difference.
Wednesday's study, however, does stress aspirin's therapeutic benefits to those already suffering heart conditions or who have had a heart attack.
