High prevalence of aspirin resistance in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and hyperhomocysteinaemia.

Although aspirin resistance is well reported in CVD, little is known about aspirin response in elderly patients with hyperhomocysteinaemia. The aim of the present study was to explore the prevalence of aspirin resistance in elderly patients with CVD and hyperhomocysteinaemia. A total of 370 elderly patients with CVD were recruited. The study included 216 patients with hyperhomocysteinaemia and 154 patients with normohomocysteinaemia receiving daily aspirin therapy (≥ 75 mg) over 1 month. The effect of aspirin was assessed using by light transmission aggregometry (LTA). Aspirin resistance was defined as ≥ 20% arachidonic acid induced aggregation according to LTA. Aspirin resistance was defined in 48 (13.0%) of 370 patients. The prevalence of aspirin resistance was higher in hyperhomocysteinaemic patients than normohomocysteinaemic patients (16.7% vs. 7.8%, odds ratio (OR)=2.367; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.188-4.715, p=0.012). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, hyperhomocysteinaemia (OR=2.406, 95% CI=1.201-4.820, p=0.013) was a significant risk factor for aspirin resistance. A significant number of CVD patients with hyperhomocysteinemia are resistant to aspirin therapy. Hyperhomocysteinemia is a significant risk factor for aspirin resistance in elderly patients with CVD.