In an email, Colin Baigent, the lead investigator of the SHARP study, argued that the analysis was proper.

FORBES: Finally, A Win For Vytorin

Another explanation is that Baigent and his colleagues have been the fiercest proponents of the idea that statin drugs work solely by lowering cholesterol.

FORBES: Finally, A Win For Vytorin

Dr Baigent said surveys in the UK have shown that aspirin is prescribed to less than a quarter of people with diseases such as peripheral arterial disease - a condition which causes fatty deposits to build up in the arteries of the leg, and which commonly leads to heart attacks or strokes.

BBC: Aspirin