UK study finds that painkillers may cause heart attacks

by LaVonne on 11/06/05 at 10:16 am

Commonly used painkillers have come under an extensive scrutiny by British scientists, who say that more research is needed into the safety of painkillers as they have found evidence that some painkillers could increase the risk of heart attacks in patients who routinely use them.

These comments were made after it was found that Ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory that is commonly prescribed by doctors increases the risk of having a cardiac arrest within three months by almost 24 percent. For other painkillers such as diclofenac, the risk of an arrest rose to about 50 percent. These findings are a part of the study, which observed 9,218 patients who had suffered their first heart attack. These patients were aged between 25 and 100 and were spread across England, Scotland and Wales.

The study revealed that patients, who were prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, in the three months before the heart attack occured, were found to be at a greater risk than those who had never taken these drugs in the past three years. The study has been published in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal.

Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox of the University of Nottingham in England, said, ” We think more data and more research is needed to formally evaluate the safety of all these drugs. Our findings support existing knowledge and raise questions over additional drugs.” She added that the findings of the study could have “considerable implications for public health.”
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