Aspirin is being touted as a viable treatment for New Zealanders who may suffer blood clots.

A new study into the drug shows a low-dose of aspirin is a cheap and effective way to prevent deadly blood clots in the leg or lungs of patients who have had previous blood clots.

Aspirin could be used as a blood thinning medication in the future.

Tauranga Hospital consultant physician Dr Nicola Cooper says they know some people with ‘unprovoked VTE' have a significant risk of future blood clots.

'But the decision to take life-long blood thinning treatment is a difficult one and also carries some risks.

'In the future, aspirin could provide an alternative for those people.”

The study, conducted by the National Health and Medical Research Council's Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney, and a team of international investigators, has found that people who suffered blood clots in the veins of the leg (deep vein thrombosis or DVT) or the lungs (pulmonary embolism or PE) are less likely to suffer a recurrence of the serious blood clots or a cardiac event if they take low-dose aspirin.

'However, a major public health issue is ‘provoked VTE' – people who get blood clots because they are in hospital, immobile or having surgery,” says Nicola.

'Low dose aspirin is not effective prevention for these people, who are currently treated with a combination of blood thinning drugs and mechanical devices to prevent clots.”

Dr Tim Brighton, from Prince of Wales Hospital and principal investigator of the study, explained many patients discontinue warfarin therapy after six or twelve months of treatment due to the inconvenience of regular blood tests and the increased risks of serious bleeding.

He says this puts them at high risk of recurring thrombosis.

'Aspirin reduces the risk of important blood clotting event including recurrent VTE, myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death.

'We now have clear evidence that aspirin is of benefit for patients who are unable or do not wish to continue warfarin in the long term.”

The study results are consistent with the findings of an Italian study, called WARFASA, which a showed a significant benefit with aspirin as reported in the The New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year.