Taking a daily, low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke used to be the standard of care for older adults at risk for cardiovascular disease. Now, new recommendations issued by both the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association state that the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding outweighs the cardiovascular benefits for people with no history of heart attack or stroke.

“Aspirin isn’t harmless,” says Lawrence Phillips, MD, NYU Langone cardiologist and assistant professor in the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology. The research from three international studies found that long-term use of aspirin may cause more harm to older patients with little to no cardiovascular benefits.

Although the new recommendations impact millions of people in the United States, Dr. Phillips advises those currently taking aspirin not to just stop. Instead, he encourages people to “have a conversation with their physician, and determine their individual risks versus benefit.”

Read more and view the segment from NBC News.