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What are the risk factors for heart attack?
Your lifestyle, diet and other factors all contribute to your risk of suffering a heart attack. You may be more at risk of heart attack if you have a family or personal history of heart-related problems, if you smoke, have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or if you are overweight. Taking Entrophen® daily, eating a healthy diet and avoiding other risk factors such as smoking help to significantly reduce the risk.
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What are the risk factors for stroke?
Certain lifestyle and other factors may increase your risk of suffering a stroke. You may be more at risk if you have heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, if you smoke and if you have previously suffered from a transient ischemic attack. Taking Entrophen® daily, eating a healthy diet and avoiding other risk factors such as smoking can help to significantly reduce the risk.
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How does Entrophen® help protect the heart?
Entrophen® essentially acts as a blood thinner to help prevent the formation of blood clots. It inhibits the platelets’ ability to clump together to form a clot. Thus, there is less chance of your body forming a clot that will block your arteries, reducing your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
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Why should I use Entrophen® 81 mg?
Entrophen® 81 mg can be used in adults for the relief of pain, fever and inflammation due to a variety of conditions such as influenza, the common cold, low back and neck pain, headaches, toothaches, sprains, strains, fractures and even arthritis or dental procedures. Entrophen® also plays an important role in the protection of your heart. It is a platelet aggregation inhibitor, and thus can also be used to prevent heart attacks and death in those who have already suffered a heart attack, in those with unstable angina or in those with certain heart disease risk factors. It can help reduce the risk of stroke and death in patients with a history of transient ischemic attacks and can even be used in an emergency situation at the first sign of a heart attack to help decrease its duration and severity.
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What is the difference between Entrophen® chewable tablets and Entrophen® enteric coated tablets (EC)?
Studies have shown that Entrophen® chewable tablets are just as effective as the enteric coated tablets. In fact, the chewable tablets may actually work faster than the enteric coated tablets because the body is able to absorb them more quickly. They are chewed and swallowed right away and can start to dissolve and be absorbed into the blood early on. The enteric coated tablets are swallowed whole but because they are covered with a protective coating, they will not dissolve until they have passed through the stomach and so may take longer to work. This protective coating is thought to decrease nausea and stomach irritation due to the direct physical contact of the drug with the stomach lining, but will not decrease the risk of complications such as stomach ulcers that are actually caused by the action of the drug. The chewable tablets are great for people who cannot swallow pills whole. They are also good to use at the first sign of a heart attack, because they will work more quickly to exert their potentially life saving effect.
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What side effects can I expect when taking Entrophen®?
The most common adverse effects occur in the gastrointestinal system. These mainly include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but heartburn and dyspepsia may also occur. ASA can also cause the stomach or intestines to bleed or ulcerate; however this is less common when taking a low dose, such as Entrophen® 81 mg. Others side effects that have been reported, but are uncommon, include vertigo, hearing loss, ringing in the ears, anemia, urticaria (hives), pruritus (itch), asthma, anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction), drowsiness and mental confusion.
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Am I more likely to experience side effects with ASA 81 mg or with ASA 325 mg?
The frequency and severity of gastrointestinal adverse effects are dose-related. Thus, you are more likely to experience side effects while taking 325 mg, than while taking only 81 mg. It is nonetheless possible to experience gastrointestinal bleeding at doses as low as 80 mg per day, but studies have shown that resulting complications are less frequent and bleeding losses are less severe on the lower doses.
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Is the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding and/or ulceration higher with Entrophen® chewable 81 mg than with Entrophen® enteric coated 81 mg tablets?
No. Since the adverse effects on the gastrointestinal system are dose-related, the risk of side effects is the same for products of the similar strengths. The gastrointestinal bleeding and ulceration is actually due to the action of the drug and not to the actual physical contact between the drug and the stomach. In fact, studies have shown that the risk of adverse reactions is similar whether the patient is on placebo, low-dose enteric coated tablets or low dose chewable tablets.
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Can I use Entrophen® while I am taking other medications?
Entrophen® is fairly safe to use with most other medications. However, you should not take Entrophen®, except on the advice of a physician, if you are also taking other prescription anticoagulants such as warfarin (Coumadin®) or while you are drinking alcohol, as these may increase the risk of bleeding due to ASA. You should also consult your physician before taking Entrophen® if you are on hypoglycemic drugs since ASA may alter the body’s glucose levels. You should always ask your physician or pharmacist before combining any prescription medications, over-the-counter medications or herbals.
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Can I use Entrophen® if I am diabetic?
People with diabetes are at increased risk of heart disease. In fact, they are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop cardiovascular problems than the average individual. Thus they are good candidates for using a daily low dose ASA such as Entrophen® to decrease their risk of heart attack or stroke.
Please consult a doctor before begining low dose ASA preventive therapy.
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Will Entrophen® help me if I am having a heart attack?
Yes. ASA has been shown to help reduce the severity and duration of the heart attack and could increase your chances of survival if taken during the heart attack and for 30 days thereafter. When taken right at the onset of a heart attack, Asaphen can dissolve the blood clot and increase blood flow, reducing the amount of damage to the heart. In an emergency, it is best to take a chewable Entrophen® 81 mg since this format will get into the bloodstream faster than the enteric-coated tablets to provide a potentially life-saving benefit as soon as possible.
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