How Does Aspirin Affect the Body?

Video Transcript

"Aspirin is one of the oldest anti-inflammatory agents that man has used medicinally and it reduces inflammation in injured tissue. And blocks prostaglandins which are chemical agents that promote muscle spasm and pain. Aspirin also is beneficial in what most people refer to as thinning their blood. It actually doesn't thin the blood it prevents the platelets, which are small particles in your blood that come together and coagulate to help form clots if you get cut or have internal bleeding or whatever. So aspirin can bind with these platelets and prevent them from coming together and forming those clots which means you bleed longer and your blood clots slower. This is what people refer to as thinning their blood. And this is actually why it's beneficial to take aspirin, 81 milligrams which is a baby aspirin, once a day, because it adds just enough platelet anti-aggregate action that it can limit to some extent the clot formation in your coronary arteries and help reduce the chance of heart attack and stroke."