Low‐dose aspirin for secondary cardiovascular prevention – cardiovascular risks after its perioperative withdrawal versus bleeding risks with its continuation – review and meta‐analysis

Low-dose aspirin given for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease is frequently withdrawn prior to surgical or diagnostic procedures to reduce bleeding complications. This may expose patients to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Aim of the study was to review and quantify cardiovascular risks because of periprocedural aspirin withdrawal and bleeding risks with the continuation of aspirin.

We screened MEDLINE (January 1970-October 2004) with additional manual cross-referencing for clinical studies, surveys on the opinions of doctors and guidelines.