Aspirin was once used solely as an antipyretic and analgesic, but recent studies have shown it to have antiplatelet effects. A pooled analysis of over 100 randomized controlled clinical trials has shown that in patients at high cardiovascular risk, long-term use of the antiplatelet drug aspirin can reduce the incidence of the combined endpoint of serious vascular events by approximately 1/4, including a 1/3 reduction in the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction, a 1/4 reduction in the risk of nonfatal stroke, and a 1/6 reduction in mortality from vascular events. The important role of aspirin in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease is gaining increasing attention. The use of aspirin reduces the risk of myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease death by 26%-35%. A large clinical study in 2005 showed that in 39,876 initially healthy women (45 years and older) taking aspirin 100 mg every other day for 10 years, aspirin significantly reduced the incidence of first stroke in women by 17%, including a 24% reduction in ischemic stroke and a 22% reduction in transient ischemia. There was no increase in the risk of cerebral hemorrhage due to aspirin use.