Marilynn Marchione FILE - This Aug. 23, 2018 file photo shows an arrangement of aspirin pills in New York. A large study finds that low-dose and regular-strength aspirin seem equally safe and effective for preventing additional heart problems in people who already have heart disease. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File) May 15, 2021 - 8:27 AM An unusual study that had thousands of heart disease patients enroll themselves and track their health online as they took low- or regular-strength aspirin concludes that both doses seem equally safe and effective for preventing additional heart problems and strokes. But thereâs a big caveat: People had such a strong preference for the lower dose that itâs unclear if the results can establish that the treatments are truly equivalent, some independent experts said. Half who were told to take the higher dose took the lower one instead or quit using aspirin altogether.