HowToPreventHeartDisease.com

Use Painkillers Cautiously If You Have Heart Disease!
 

A group of painkillers, known as Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), are used to treat acute or chronic conditions where pain and inflammation are present. These drugs, containing analgesic, have antipyretic (fever-reducing) effects and if in higher doses, have anti-inflammatory effects. NSAIDs, usually available over the counter in most areas, include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, as well as prescription arthritis drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors.

The COX-2 inhibitors were first linked to an increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular problems. Two of the drugs, rofecoxib and valdecoxib, were pulled from the market in 2004 and 2005 respectively, and a third COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib remains on the market. Subsequent studies, however, also highlighted the possible risk of heart disease of some of the older ones including ibuprofen and diclofenac.

In a paper published online on May 9, 2011 in the American Heart Association (AHA)’s journal “Circulation”, researchers from Denmark reported that even a couple of days of treatment with some anti-inflammatory painkillers can pose danger to people with a history of heart disease.

Their findings showed that people, who had experienced a heart attack and took the painkillers known as NSAIDs, had a 45 percent higher risk of having another heart attack or dying within 7 days of treatment. After 30 days of treatment, the increased risk reached between 55 and 65 percent, compared with people who did not take NSAIDs.

In order to find out if short-term use of NSAIDs carries risks to people who are perhaps more vulnerable, the national data collected from all Danish residents were reviewed. More than 83,000 people who had experienced a heart attack were identified and those who subsequently took NSAIDs and for how long were noted. More than 35,000 participants died or had a subsequent heart attack over the course of the study.

More than 40 percent of people took an NSAID after their heart attacks, and even short-term use was associated with more risks. The most common NSAIDs used were ibuprofen (23 percent) and diclofenac (13 percent).

As the results showed, not all NSAIDs were associated with the similar risks at the same time. For example, ibuprofen, celecoxib, and rofecoxib did not raise the risk of death or heart attack until after at least 7 to 14 days of treatment. People taking the commonly used diclofenac were more at risk early in treatment than those taking rofecoxib, which has been withdrawn from the market over safety concerns.

Meanwhile, naproxen was not associated with a higher risk of death or heart attack, regardless of the length of treatment. But previous research did find people who took naproxen had a higher risk of stomach bleeding than those taking rofecoxib, which can be serious in people with a history of heart attack.

Nevertheless, the current study did not include information regarding participants’ other risk factors including blood pressure and body weight, and it was unclear how these would influence the results.

According to the researchers, the study did not really show NSAIDs themselves caused any higher risk of heart attack or death. It is possible that the people who needed NSAIDs were generally sicker, and the drug itself was not always responsible for the higher risk.

The findings demonstrated that short-term treatment with most NSAIDs is associated with higher cardiovascular risk and indicated that there is no safe therapeutic window for NSAIDs in patients with prior heart attack. Such findings were very much similar to a 2007 report from AHA suggesting that none of these drugs were safe.

Hence, when a person with heart disease has pain that requires the help of medications, he or she should pick the safest drug in the lowest dose needed to control his or her symptoms and for the shortest period of time.

Copyright 2007-2012 © HowToPreventHeartDisease.com . All Rights Reserved.d.......
Created by EpublishingVault.com
Heart Disease Prevention - 8 Simple Ways You Can Do Immediately