Aspirin is widely taken in United States and other countries as an effective medication against heart attack and stroke. In United States, nearly 60 million people take aspirin everyday. Journal of American College of Cardiology has published a new study which says that in 10-15% of the cases, Aspirin may not be helpful.

The research team at Duke University has pointed out that some patients have aspirin resistance and they would not benefit from the aspirin therapy. The team has found out the gene activity based on a blood test and this can help to identify patients who will respond better to the aspirin therapy.

The research team performed the study on participants divided in three groups, one was of heart patients, and two from healthy volunteers. The healthy volunteers were administered 325 mg of Aspirin for a month while heart patients were given smaller dosage (100mg or less). The blood samples were analyzed for the study subjects.

Lead author of the study, Deepak Voora commented that RNA test devised for the study subjects found biological marker which gives an indication of a patient's response to aspirin. As per data, 250-30% of the patients undergoing aspirin therapy suffer from heart attack or stroke.