Aug 26, 2014 02:04 PM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Aspirin could reduce the risk of reoccurring blood clots, according to a recent study.

Researchers found that aspirin reduced the risk of recurring blood clots by up to 42 percent. This makes the drug a promising alternative or those who can't take long-term anticoagulant drugs that prevent clots from reoccurring in the veins.

Venous thromboembolism are blood clots in veins. The blood clot can occur in the deep veins of the legs (deep vein thrombosis) and can break apart and travel to the lungs, where they block off arteries in the lungs (pulmonary embolism).

"Aspirin does not require laboratory monitoring, and is associated with about a 10-fold lower incidence of bleeding compared with oral anticoagulants," Cecilia Becattini, lead author of the study, said in a statement.  "We are convinced that it will be an alternative for extended prevention of venous thromboembolism after [6 to 12] months of anticoagulant treatment."

According to researchers, without treatment, people who have blood clots in their veins with no obvious cause have on average a 10 percent risk of another clot within the first year and a 5 percent risk per year thereafter.

"The treatment is warfarin or a newer anticoagulant usually given for at least six to 12 months to prevent a further blood clot," John Simes, lead author of study and director of the National Health and Medical Research Council Trials Center and professor at the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a statement. "However, these people continue to be at risk."

In a combined analysis of two similar independent studies, 1,224 patients who received 100 mg of aspirin a day to treat blood clots were monitored for at least two years.

Although the study yielded clear results, researchers advise patients to talk to their doctor about taking aspirin after stopping treatment with anticoagulants.

"It is not recommended that aspirin be given instead of anticoagulant therapy, but rather be given to patients who are stopping anticoagulant therapy or for whom such treatments are considered unsuitable," Simes added.

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