Diabetics who are looking for health resources to help cut down on their chance of suffering from heart attacks may want to think twice before taking aspirin as a preventative measure.

Research has suggested that a daily dose of aspirin can help people reduce their heart attack risk.

However, a new study published in the British Medical Journal found that this practice does not provide any protection for diabetics – and may also lead to stomach bleeding.

Professor Jill Belch of the Institute of Cardiovascular Research at Dundee University and colleagues gave aspirin, an antioxidant and a placebo to more than 1,200 adult diabetics who did not have symptoms of heart disease.

After eight years of following their progress, they determined that the effectiveness of aspirin to reduce heart attack and stroke was no greater than the placebo.

“Aspirin appears to offer no benefit at all. We need to think again about using it for primary prevention,” Belch commented, according to Time.

However, the study did find that aspirin had a protective effect for those who had already suffered a heart attack or stroke.

People who are concerned about their arterial health may wish to try nutritional supplements containing EDTA, an amino acid that is used in chelation therapy.