Aspirin but not vitamin E prevented cardiovascular events in patients at risk.(Brief Article)

QUESTION: In patients with [greater than or equal to]1 cardiovascular risk factor but no history of cardiovascular disease, do aspirin and vitamin E prevent cardiovascular events?

Design

Randomised (allocation concealed), unblinded, 2 x 2 factorial trial with a mean follow up of 3.6 years.

Setting

315 general practices and 15 hospital hypertension units in Italy.

Patients

4495 patients (mean age 64 y, 58% women) aged [greater than equal to]50 years who had 1 major cardiovascular risk factor: age [greater than or equal to] 65 years, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and family history of myocardial infarction (MI) before 55 years of age in [greater than or equal to] 1 parent or sibling. Exclusion criteria were treatment with …