Low-dose aspirin may prevent preeclampsia: panel

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Pregnant women at a high risk for the potentially fatal complication preeclampsia should take low-dose aspirin after their first trimester, according to a government-backed panel. The draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is based on a review of the evidence that found low-dose aspirin reduced the likelihood of developing the condition and its complications. “Low-dose aspirin – in looking at benefit – reduced the risk of preeclampsia by 24 percent,” Jillian Henderson, the review’s lead author, told Reuters Health. Henderson is a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Northwest in Portland, Oregon.