Daily aspirin therapy is known to protect people at risk of heart attack, but a new study shows that it also may benefit people with lupus, whether they’ve experienced a cardiac problem or not, a new study shows.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that hikes the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart, stroke and significant limb ischemia, which is a sudden blockage of blood flow to the arms or legs that, in severe cases, can result in amputation, or even death.

Lupus patients are known to be at greater risk for cardiovascular problems and death compared to the general population. Low-dose aspirin has proven effective in preventing major cardiovascular events in the general public, but had not been evaluated specifically in people with Lupus, according to the Italian research team that did the study.

The researchers followed 167 patients with lupus for an average of eight years.  At the time the study began, none of the patients had experienced a major cardiovascular event.  The patients received treatment for their condition, depending on its grade, and had been invited to participate in the aspirin study.

 They found that those who took low-dose aspirin daily were less likely to suffer one of these major cardiovascular events than those that did not.  In addition, no adverse side effects were reported, the researchers say.

The study was small, though, and the researchers noted that more study will be needed to confirm these results, which appears in Rheumatology.