If more people would take an aspirin when they experience chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, 5,000 to 10,000 lives could be saved each year in the United States, according to the American Heart Association.

Aspirin prevents blood platelets from sticking together and forming masses of blood clots. By blocking blood vessels, these clots can cause heart attacks and strokes.

The American Heart Association recommends the emergency use of aspirin to prevent heart attacks. If you or someone you are with might be having a heart attack, seek medical attention immediately and take (or give) a chewable 325-millligram aspirin to obtain a rapid clot-preventing effect.  Most deaths from heart attacks occur in the first three to four hours of symptom onset, so do not delay.

Remember the common warning signs; the more you have, the higher the likelihood of a heart attack in progress:

When taken on a daily basis, aspirin has been shown to prevent heart attacks in people who have already suffered one heart attack.  A dose of 50 -100 mg (baby aspirin) is considered adequate for prevention. The American Heart Association recommends that anyone with atherosclerosis (a disease that causes obstruction of the arteries) take aspirin regularly, whether or not a heart attack has occurred.