Cardiac Patients Are Misdiagnosed for Aspirin Allergy Without an Allergic Test

Never ignore Allergies! Most heart patients are being prescribed aspirin pills without even testing for an aspirin allergy, revealed a new study.

Many patients with cardiovascular disease are treated with aspirin because it is effective, low-cost and has few side effects.

Some patients who have a reaction to aspirin are told they are allergic without being tested by an allergist, and stop an otherwise effective therapy.

‘Allergies should be taken seriously. One cannot determine on their own if they are allergic to a certain substance without undergoing a proper allergic test.’

According to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, 34 percent of patients studied were mistakenly labeled as having aspirin hypersensitivity if they had a history of any gastrointestinal symptoms.

Lead author Gabriela Orgeron said that the study showed none of the patients who were determined to have aspirin hypersensitivity were referred to an allergist for testing to determine if they had a true allergy.

"In addition, we found that patients with GI symptoms were mislabeled as having aspirin allergy, which likely deprived them of being treated with aspirin in the future. It's very important that, similar to penicillin, anyone thought to have an aspirin allergy be referred to an allergist for testing," said allergist and study author Sudhir Sekhsaria.

Source: ANI