Aspirin therapy and primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in diabetes mellitus.

The benefits of aspirin therapy in reducing the subsequent risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and death is well documented in individuals with cardiovascular disease including those with diabetes mellitus (DM). The evidence for aspirin use in primary prevention of cardiovascular events in DM is debatable and meta-analyses do not suggest a proven benefit. Despite the lack of evidence, low-dose aspirin therapy has been recommended by many current diabetes guidelines. This article reviews the results of two recently published large randomized clinical trials that have looked at primary prevention of cardiovascular events using aspirin in patients with DM.