It is known that aspirin could reduce the risk of heart attacks, but a study carried out in Scotland found that taking a daily dose of aspirin could be more harm than good for healthy people.

The University of Edinburgh research team presented their founding at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona last week, where more than 30,000 heart specialists from around the world gathered.

In the study more than 3,000 men were randomly selected to receive a daily dose of aspirin or a dummy pill. The two different groups were screened over 8 years.

 
The result shows that there was no difference in the rate of heart attacks between the two sides. However, there were 34 major internal bleeds in people taking aspirin, compared with 20 of those on the placebo side.

Professor Gerry Fowkes of the research team said, "Our research suggests that aspirin should not be prescribed to the general population, although it does have benefits for people with established heart disease."

Professor Peter Weissberg, director of the British Heart Foundation was quoted as saying, "Because it's been around a long time people think it must be safe and it can't do me any harm."

"They are taking it just in case but it's much more dangerous than some other drugs which people get concerned about," he added.