One of the questions we get asked a lot is why we recommend taking two baby aspirin a day for heart protection and not just one. Like they say in Vegas, it’s all about the odds. If you’re over 40 and a typical woman, or over 35 and a typical man, and you take 82 milligrams (mg) of aspirin a day -- about the amount in one baby aspirin -- you reduce your arterial aging by 13%. But when you take 162.5 mg a day -- the amount in two baby aspirin -- the reduction is 36%.

That’s a big bump, but only in the benefits, which almost triple. The risk of side effects from taking 162 mg is only a little greater than those of taking 82 mg. Still, what kinds of side effects are we talking about? Percentage-wise, daily aspirin use ups the risk of developing major gastrointestinal bleeding or having a hemorrhagic stroke. Both of these sound scary, but the chances of either happening are very small -- and if you’re in any danger of having a heart attack, the balance dramatically tilts in favor of taking aspirin for its protective effects.

Since there’s little increase in risk for almost three times the benefits -- well, Las Vegas won’t ever give you such good odds. For aspirin, the payoff from taking two baby pills a day, compared with the slight rise in risk, is terrific. We’ll take those odds every time. But check with your doc, because your risks may vary from what’s typical.

Oh, one more thing: Taking daily aspirin also means you’re likely to bleed more if you’re injured, so don’t take it if you do extreme sports without a helmet -- but, of course, you’re too smart to do that.

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