You may be feeling confused following recent press reports that Aspirin is no longer recommended as stroke prevention. Those who take Aspirin may be more panicked than confused, if so stay calm and breathe (feel free to utilise a paper bag if you think it might help, I try not to judge).
To answer the question of why your doctor is giving or not giving you Aspirin requires an understanding of what it does. Aspirin blocks a set of enzymes which are required to initiate a series of complicated events in the body that allow platelets to become active in your blood and plug up any small breaks in blood vessels. The logic is that a dose of Aspirin will also prevent blood vessels getting clogged up with platelets in the brain which might cause a stroke.
The major downside of Aspirin is that the same enzyme system helps protect your stomach from the acid it produces: limit this and you risk stomach ulcers.
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