But you get no relief, and the pain is spreading to your jaw and shoulder. You call your wife, who takes one look at you and rushes to the phone. After calling , she brings you an aspirin and some water. Your wife got it right: You may be having a heart attack, and you need to get to the hospital fast. You also need to get some aspirin into your system quickly — but should you chew the tablet or swallow it?
The reason you need aspirin is the same reason you should call without delay: A heart attack is a dynamic event, and early intervention can limit the damage. The paramedics can give you oxygen and medication, and they'll monitor your blood pressure and heart rhythm to forestall complications as they speed you to the ER.
In the hospital, doctors will take EKGs and blood tests to see if you are having a heart attack; if so, they will usually try to open the blocked artery with an angioplasty and stent or, if that's not available, with a clot-busting drug.
It's modern cardiology at its best, and it has improved considerably the outlook for heart attack victims. But how can a humble aspirin tablet add to high-tech medicine, and why is speed so important? Most heart attacks develop when a cholesterol-laden plaque in a coronary artery ruptures.
Relatively small plaques, which produce only partial blockages, are the ones most likely to rupture. When they do, they attract platelets to their surface. Platelets are the tiny blood cells that trigger blood clotting. A clot, or thrombus, builds up on the ruptured plaque. As the clot grows, it blocks the artery. If the blockage is complete, it deprives a portion of the heart muscle of oxygen. As a result, muscle cells die — and it's a heart attack. Aspirin helps by inhibiting platelets.
Only a tiny amount is needed to inhibit all the platelets in the bloodstream; in fact, small amounts are better than high doses. But since the clot grows minute by minute, time is of the essence. To find out how aspirin works fastest, researchers in Texas asked 12 volunteers to take a standard mg dose of aspirin in three different ways: by swallowing a tablet with 4 ounces of water, by chewing the tablet for 30 seconds before swallowing it, or by drinking 4 ounces of water with Alka-Seltzer.
Each subject tried all three methods on an empty stomach on different days. For this reason many doctors will now advise you not to take aspirin for pain relief, but to take a different NSAID or a coxib instead. You should speak to your doctor if you're thinking of taking fish oil supplements because these can interact with aspirin.
However, it's fine to eat oily fish. In some people, aspirin can make asthma worse or cause an allergic reaction that results in rashes and hives. If you experience any of these side-effects you must stop taking aspirin immediately. Bayer has been seeking a faster-acting pain reliever to enhance its currently stagnant aspirin sales.
Regular milligram aspirin takes minutes to do the same. Bayer says it is aiming to attract younger customers. It adds that today aspirin is better known for its usefulness in preventing heart attack and stroke than for its analgesic qualities. It is important to revitalize the brand, they say.
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