A long term regimen of aspirin, commonly used as a pain reliever, can

Question

A long term regimen of aspirin, commonly used as a pain reliever, can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack. A recent study tested a different pain relieving drug, ibuprofen, to see if it had similar effects. Not only did subjects who took that drug more than 60 days a year see no further reduction in the risk of heart attack, but those who took both aspirin and ibuprofen lost the heart benefits of the former.

The above passage best supports the conclusion that those who are trying to reduce their risk of suffering a heart attack should

A. use only aspirin as a pain reliever.

B. take a greater dosage of aspirin if they use ibuprofen.

C. use ibuprofen instead of aspirin for pain relief.

D. avoid taking both ibuprofen and aspirin regularly.

E. stop using pain relievers if they suffer a heart attack.

Akshayiray · Answer

IMO ans. D

Stimulus Contains premises which pressure more on to not take to drugs together than on to take aspirin as a pain reliever.

Only D satisfies the condition

Avani12 · Answer

An abysmal OA indeed, we are asked to find out a way to REDUCE the risk of heart attacks. It can be inferred by option D that by avoiding the use of both the drugs simultaneously we can avoid the risk of exacerbating the possibility of heart attacks but nowhere is it mentioned that it REDUCES the instance of getting a heart attack, whereas we clearly know aspirin REDUCES the possibility of heart attacks. Kindly correct me if I am wrong. Thank you!

ravigupta2912 · Answer

I think you should consistent language - instance, possibility - all had me tied up in understanding what you're saying.

Imo, the study states  but those who took both aspirin and ibuprofen lost the heart benefits of the former. , so clearly, we can infer that to obtain benefits of former (aspirin), one must avoid taking both (aspirin and IBB) regularly.

apranav10 · Answer

Can someone explain why option A is incorrect?
The passage mentions that Aspirin can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack.

richdoggo · Answer

The passage says that aspirin is a good option for reducing the risk of a heart attack.  But it is not asserting that aspirin is the best and only option to reduce a heart attack.

What the passage does assert though is that taking both aspirin and ibuprofen together is counter productive for those trying to combat heart attacks.

harshrgupta1 · Answer

It is my guess . Option A state only aspirin while there can be any other drug better than aspirin

Tinytrotter · Answer

My 2 cents on the issue.

Option (A) seems tempting but is not the best answer.

It states "use only aspirin as a pain reliever"

Read together, it reads "those who are trying to reduce their risk of suffering a heart attack should USE ONLY ASPIRIN AS A PAIN RELIEVER"

This is incorrect right? Because the objective is to reduce heart attack and for that taking a long term regimen of Aspirin is good, but do I care if I use ONLY ASPIRIN as a pain reliever? No. I don't care if for example someone uses Oxytocin or any other drug as a pain reliver. It can even be Ibuprofen because the side effects mentioned happen when we take Aspirin & Ibuprofen together.

The passage talks about long term regimen of Aspirin is better for heart health & combined usage of Aspirin & Ibuprofen negates the heart benefits of the former. Nowhere does it state that only aspirin needs to be used as pain reliever, nothing else can work.

And that is why (D) is a better option.

nonlaudantium · Answer

I was confused between A and D but, A says- use  only  aspirin as a pain reliever. Because of such strong language I went with D.

guddo · Answer

A long term regimen of aspirin, commonly used as a pain reliever, can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack. A recent study tested a different pain relieving drug, ibuprofen, to see if it had similar effects. Not only did subjects who took that drug more than 60 days a year see no further reduction in the risk of heart attack, but those who took both aspirin and ibuprofen lost the heart benefits of the former. 
 
The above passage best supports the conclusion that those who are trying to reduce their risk of suffering a heart attack should

The passage says aspirin can reduce heart-attack risk, but ibuprofen does not add such a benefit. More importantly, taking aspirin and ibuprofen together can remove aspirin’s heart benefit.  So the safest conclusion  is that people trying to reduce heart-attack risk should avoid regularly taking  both drugs together .

(A) use only aspirin as a pain reliever.

This is too strong. The passage does not say aspirin is the only acceptable pain reliever.

(B) take a greater dosage of aspirin if they use ibuprofen.

This is not supported. The passage gives no evidence that more aspirin would restore the lost heart benefit.

(C) use ibuprofen instead of aspirin for pain relief.

This is the opposite of the evidence. Ibuprofen did not provide additional heart-attack risk reduction.

(D) avoid taking both ibuprofen and aspirin regularly.

This is correct. The passage says people who took both aspirin and ibuprofen lost aspirin’s heart benefits. So those trying to reduce heart-attack risk should avoid regular combined use.

(E) stop using pain relievers if they suffer a heart attack.

This is not supported. The passage discusses reducing risk before a heart attack, not what to do after one.

Answer: (D)

herxheys12 · Answer

The question says the "passage best supports the conclusion" but I don't get how D. becomes the correct answer here because the passage doesn't indicate reduction in heart attacks by avoiding both aspirin and Ibuprofen.

guddo · Answer

(D) does not mean “avoid aspirin and avoid ibuprofen.”

It means avoid taking  both aspirin and ibuprofen regularly .

The passage says aspirin reduces heart-attack risk, but taking aspirin with ibuprofen can cancel aspirin’s  heart benefit . So if someone is taking aspirin to reduce heart-attack risk, that person should avoid the regular combination.

gamebird96 · Answer

The passage says “after 60days no FURTHER improvements were seen” so may till 60days some improvements were there with ibuprofen... so can’t say that Aspirin only reduces... depending on the time frame effectiveness might vary... so can only conclude taking both together will have negative impact

egmat · Answer

Hi herxheys12,

You've spotted the exact tension in this question, so let's resolve it. You're reacting to the claim (echoed in guddo's write-up) that D is best, and your objection is that "avoid both drugs" never gets tied to  reducing  heart-attack risk. That's a fair thing to press on.

Here's the piece that closes the gap.  The reduction never had to come from D itself - it already comes from aspirin.  The passage's first line is the key:  "A long term regimen of aspirin... can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack."  So the risk-lowering effect is already on the table.

Now read the last line:  "those who took both aspirin and ibuprofen lost the heart benefits of the former."  Combining the two  erases  aspirin's protective effect.

So chain it together:
- Aspirin  reduces  the risk.
- Taking both  cancels  that reduction.
-  Therefore , to  keep  the reduction, don't take both regularly.

D isn't claiming that avoidance is some new source of benefit. It's saying: don't do the one thing the passage explicitly says destroys the benefit you already have.  Avoiding the combo is how you protect the reduction aspirin gives you  - that's exactly what someone "trying to reduce their risk" wants.

A quick way to feel it: imagine a coupon that saves you  $10 . Then you're told, "If you also use the second coupon, the first one stops working." What should a saver do?  Not use both together  - not because avoiding them saves money, but because doing so keeps the  $10  discount alive. Same logic here, with aspirin as the discount.

Answer: D

A long term regimen of aspirin, commonly used as a pain reliever, can

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A long term regimen of aspirin, commonly used as a pain reliever, can

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