One of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease is Diabetes. In fact, there is a 2-4 fold increase in the risk of dying from heart disease if the patient is diabetic. One of the reasons is increased production of thromboxane which is a vasoconstrictor and at the same time promotes platelet aggregation.

Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin).

Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that has many effects. It is an anti-pyretic, an analgesic and, an anti-inflam-matory drug. It also acts as an anti-platelet because it irreversibly inhibits the  formation of thromboxane through the cyclooxygenase I pathway.

The American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association have endorsed the following guidelines: “Aspirin may be used in women over 60 and men over 50 who have diabetes mellitus who have other risk factors for heart attack and stroke.”

A study by Spectre, et.al. showed that twice daily dosing of aspirin improved the laboratory outcomes in high-risk DM II patients. The laboratory parameters used were impedance aggregometry (WBA) and the IMPACT-R (CPA). An abstract of the study can be found here.