[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Kanga

The American Diabetes Association has concluded that low-dose aspirin therapy may be helpful, not only in patients with diabetes who have had heart attacks, but also in patients with diabetes who are at high risk for future heart and artery disease. ...

The ADA is out of date on this one. A number of recent studies show that there is no benefit in taking aspirin for diabetics who have not already had a heart attack. The most recent one is the POPADAD study, which investigated the issue because of the unsubstantiated recomendations that are made by the likes of the ADA.

... We evaluated the effect of aspirin or antioxidant on cardiovascular events and mortality in a large cohort of people with diabetes mellitus with asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease. These two clinical criteria were selected for study as guidelines were being published, without evidential support, recommending aspirin use as primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes mellitus and with asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease. We found no evidence of benefit from either aspirin or antioxidant treatment on the composite hierarchical primary end points of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality. ...
The prevention of progression of arterial disease and diabetes (POPADAD) trial: factorial randomised placebo controlled trial of aspirin and antioxidants in patients with diabetes and asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease -- Belch et al. 337: a184

Because, aspirin inhibits the clotting of blood, the time when it is needed most is during a heart attack. Taking it before a heart attack has no useful effect. Aspirin can prevent a heart attack from being fatal, but it won't stop it happening in the first place. I have never had heart attack, and my risk of having one is low. So I don't take aspirin. But I keep 2 aspirin in my tesing kit, just in case .