Aspirin belongs to the class of anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning/antiplatelet agents. Its use varies according to its strength. In a low dose (about 75 mg), Aspirin acts as a blood-thinning or antiplatelet agent used to prevent heart attack and stroke. On the other hand, a high dose (about 325 mg) acts as an analgesic, relieving minor aches, pains and fevers. Your doctor may also prescribe ASA Tablet immediately after a heart attack to prevent further clots and heart tissue death. A heart attack generally refers to the blocked flow of blood due to blocked arteries. This blockage is due to the build-up of fat, cholesterol and other substances (plaque) in arteries.

ASA Tablet plays a vital role in the thinning of blood by its anti-platelet activity to decrease the risk of blood clot formation and subsequent heart attack. Low-dose aspirin makes the blood less sticky, preventing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Besides this, it inhibits the activity of the cyclooxygenase (COX) and prostaglandins (PGs), which cause inflammation, swelling, pain, and fever.

You can take ASA Tablet with food or without food. It should be swallowed whole with a glass of water. Do not chew, bite, or break it. Your doctor will advise you how often you take your tablets based on your medical condition. ASA Tablet can be given through oral and rectal routes. In some cases, you may experience stomach upset, heartburn, drowsiness, mild headache, ankle swelling (oedema), slow heart rate, and nausea. ASA Tablet is known to cause dizziness, so driving should be avoided. Most of these side effects of ASA Tablet do not require medical attention and gradually resolve over time. However, if the side effects are persistent, reach out to your doctor.

You should avoid drinking alcohol, taking painkillers (ibuprofen, ketorolac) and the abortion pill (mifepristone) with ASA Tablet as together it can increase your risk of stomach or gastric bleeding. ASA Tablet should not be given to children with flu, fever, or chickenpox until the doctor has prescribed it. ASA Tablet can cause Reye's syndrome (a rare but serious condition with swelling in the brain and liver common in children and teenagers). Do not use ASA Tablet during the last trimester of pregnancy due to possible harm to the unborn baby. ASA Tablet passes into the breast milk and may harm the nursing infant. So tell your doctor if you are pregnant, planning for pregnancy, or breastfeeding mother before taking ASA Tablet . Many people using ASA Tablet do not have serious side effects. However, tell your doctor if you have stomach upset, mild indigestion, easy bruising or bleeding, difficulty in hearing, ringing in the ears, dark urine, change in the amount of urine, persistent or severe nausea/vomiting, unexplained tiredness, dizziness, and yellowing of eyes/skin (jaundice). ASA Tablet may increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (from the stomach/intestine), intracranial bleeding (bleeding in the brain) or other areas of the body. So, after consulting a doctor only, you should take ASA Tablet .

Low dose of Aspirin acts as a blood thinner preventing blood cells sticking together and forming a blood clot in the arteries of the heart. This decreases the risk of having any heart attack or stroke in future. A high dose of Aspirin inhibits the activity of the cyclooxygenase (COX) and prostaglandins (PGs) that cause inflammation, swelling, pain, and fever. 

• Stomach upset
• Heartburn
• Easy bruising/bleeding
• Difficulty in hearing
• Ringing in the ears
• Change in the amount of urine
• Persistent or severe nausea/vomiting
• Unexplained tiredness
• Dizziness
• Dark urine
• Yellowing eyes/skin (jaundice)

You should avoid drinking alcohol, taking pain killers (like ibuprofen, naproxen, ketorolac), and the abortion pill (mifepristone) with ASA Tablet . Together intake can increase the risk of gastric bleeding and lower efficiency of ASA Tablet in preventing heart attack and stroke. ASA Tablet should not be given to the children with flu, fever, or chickenpox until the doctor has prescribed it. ASA Tablet can cause Reye's syndrome (rare but serious condition with swelling in the brain and liver common in children). Do not use ASA Tablet during the last trimester of pregnancy due to possible harm to the unborn baby. ASA Tablet passes into the breast milk and may harm the nursing infant. So tell your doctor if you are pregnant, planning for pregnancy, or breast-feeding mother before taking ASA Tablet . ASA Tablet may increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (from the stomach/intestine), intracranial bleeding (bleeding in the brain) or, other areas of the body. ASA Tablet may interfere with laboratory tests like urine sugar tests possibly causing false test results. Make sure laboratory personnel and doctors know that you are taking ASA Tablet . Before taking ASA Tablet tell your doctor if you have a stomach ulcer, bleeding disorder, low Vitamin K, aspirin induced asthma, allergic to ASA Tablet or other pain killers, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, or going to have any type of surgery.

Drug-Drug Interaction: ASA Tablet is shown to interact with various drugs. Some of them includes blood thinners (warfarin, heparin, phenindione, clopidogrel), immune related drugs (cyclosporin, tacrolimus), high blood pressure pills (captopril, metoprolol), heart disease related pills (acetazolamide, digoxin), antidepressant (fluoxetine, sertraline, lithium), pain killers (ketorolac, naproxen, ibuprofen), steroids, gout drug (probenecid), anti-epilepsy drug (valproate, phenytoin), anti-cancer or anti-arthritis drug (methoxtrexate), anti-diabetic pills (glibenclamide), abortion pill (mifepristone), acetazolamide, and osteoporosis related drug (oral alendronate).

Drug-Food Interaction: Taking ASA Tablet along with alcohol, caffeine and herbal supplements like ‘ginkgo biloba’ can affect the working and potentiate the side effect of this medicine.

Drug-Disease Interaction: ASA Tablet should not recommend for people having blood clotting disorder (haemophilia), bleeding disorder, von Willebrand's disease, or telangiectasia, asthma, liver/kidney problem, stomach or intestinal ulcer, severe heart problems which can cause shortness of breath.

• WARFARIN
• HEPARIN
• PHENINDIONE
• CLOPIDOGREL
• CYCLOSPORIN
• TACROLIMUS
• CAPTOPRIL
• METOPROLOL
• ACETAZOLAMIDE
• DIGOXIN
• FLUOXETINE
• SERTRALINE
• LITHIUM
• KETOROLAC
• NAPROXEN
• IBUPROFEN
• PROBENECID
• VALPROATE
• PHENYTOIN
• METHOTREXATE
• GLIBENCLAMIDE
• MIFEPRISTONE

• Low cholesterol diet along with a regular exercise regime is found to complement treatment with ASA Tablet effectively. 

• Avoid alcohol as it may increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (stomach bleeding).

• The high-fat meal should be avoided as it may further increase the risk of heart attack, and instead, eat heart-healthy foods.

• As a precautionary measure, you are recommended not to consume junk food items from outside, stick to freshly prepared home-cooked meals and take proper rest for a speedy recovery.

• And also, trying to replace most of your saturated fats with unsaturated fats can reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in a short span of time.

• Foods like avocados, olive oil, fatty fish and nuts contain lots of heart-healthy unsaturated fats, so it’s beneficial to eat them regularly.

ASA Tablet can cause stomach bleeding. Please consult your doctor if bleeding does not stop.

A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is blocked due to the deposition of plaque (fat/cholesterol) in the arteries wall (coronary arteries) that nourish the heart. In some cases, plaque can rupture and form a blood clot that blocks blood flow. On the other hand, a stroke is a medical emergency condition in which blood supply to the brain is reduced or blocked, preventing brain cells (neurons) from getting sufficient oxygen and nutrients. As a result, brain cells begin to die in few minutes.