Aspirin: Quitting cold turkey could be dangerous

Studies have linked aspirin withdrawal to heart attacks.

Patients are sometimes told to stop taking aspirin before surgery and dental treatments because aspirin is believed to increase the risk for serious bleeding. But many doctors are now giving just the opposite advice, telling patients to stay on their aspirin. Research has shown that abruptly quitting aspirin after taking it regularly may increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. And for most operations there now seems little reason to worry about aspirin causing extra bleeding.