Aspirin to Prevent Preeclampsia

Not long after the physiological effects of prostacyclin (epoprostenol) and thromboxane on platelets and vessel walls were elucidated,1 it was suggested that many of the pathophysiological features of preeclampsia might be explained by disordered eicosanoid metabolism. The effects of aspirin in low concentrations, including reductions in platelet aggregation and constriction of arterial smooth muscle, made it an attractive choice for potentially ameliorating the pathophysiological effects of preeclampsia. The largest trial to date of aspirin to prevent preeclampsia in pregnant women, the Collaborative Low-Dose Aspirin Study in Pregnancy (CLASP),2 which involved more than 9300 women at high risk for preeclampsia or . . .