NSAIDs - painkillers may cause heart attack and stroke
02/06/2006
May I thank you for the way my accident claim has been handled, after my accident my confidence was very low indeed but the sympathetic handling of my case restored my confidence.
John, Sheffield
Research just published suggests that painkillers including ibuprofen can increase the risk of a heart attack.
The research published in the British Medical Journal shows that two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - ibuprofen and diclofenac, could cause attacks when taken in high doses.
Vioxx, part of the group of anti-inflammatories known as COX-2 inhibitors, was banned in 2004 after it was found to more than double the risk of heart attack or stroke.
This study confirms that also double the risk of heart attack, as well as COX-2 inhibitors.
The risk of heart attacks, stroke, or vascular disease was increased by 40% by both COX-2s and NSAIDs.
The study also found that one NSAID, naproxen, which is rarely used in the UK, carried smaller risks.
They found there were three more heart attacks per 1,000 people every year in those who did not already have heart disease but who were taking COX-2 inhibitors or NSAIDs.
The study was carried out over several years and involved 140,000 patients.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Rome carried out the study.
The study also found that one NSAID, naproxen, which is rarely used in the UK, carried smaller risks.
Current advice for patients who need an anti-inflammatory drug is to take the lowest effective dose of a NSAID orcoxib for the shortest time necessary to control symptoms.
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