HEALTH COACH -
The risk of heart attack with analgesics begins in one week: study Common analgesics such as ibuprofen and naproxen are already known to elevate the risk of people from a heart attack. Now, a new study shows that the risk comes in the first week of drug use.
Study does not mean that everyone should avoid taking pills to treat headaches, reduce fevers and reduce pain, but suggests that people who know that they have a Risk of heart attack greater than the average should avoid long-term use and high doses, the researchers said.
Ibuprofen The study involves drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS in the short term. They include ibuprofen, sold under brands such as Advil or Motrin; Naproxen, like Aleve; As well as antiretrotic medications known as COX-2 inhibitors, such as Celebrex.
Tylenol, known generically as acetaminophen, is not an NSAID.
The study also focused on Vioxx, a prescription drug withdrawn from the market in 2004 after showing that it increased the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
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Michèle Bally of McGill University and her colleagues have assembled all the studies they could find on NSAIDs and heart attacks. They were placed on data covering 446 000 people using NSAIDs, of whom 385 000 had no heart attack, known clinically as myocardial infarction.
"By studying 61 460 myocardial infarction events in the actual use of NSAIDs, we found that the current use of NSAIDs is associated with a significantly increased risk of NSAID use, Acute myocardial infarction, "they wrote in their report, published in the British Medical Journal.
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The risk began within a week and it did not increase with longer use, they found. But the study does not show how much the risk of suffering a heart attack is increased.
"This has been observed for all traditional NSAIDs, including naproxen," they added.
Using more than 1,200 mg per day of ibuprofen and 750 mg per day of naproxen was particularly dangerous, they found. As expected, Vioxx was particularly dangerous.
" For most people who do not run a risk of heart attack, these findings have minimal implications." The US Food and Drug Administration has already added so-called black box warnings to NSAIDs that warn people with heart disease or high blood pressure to avoid using them without consulting them. First a doctor.
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The American Heart Association advises people to first try acetaminophen (Tylenol).
This is a challenging news for people suffering from chronic pain - they are told to avoid stronger drugs like opioids because of the risk of addiction and overdosage.
"A particularly difficult decision will be in patients with inflammatory arthritis - such as rheumatoid arthritis - as they often need NSAIDs to cushion inflammation to control pain and stiffness in The joints, "said Dr. Mike Knapton, medical director associated with the British Heart Foundation, who did not participate in the study.
But Stephen Evans of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said the casual user had less to fear. "The two main problems are that the risks are relatively low, and for most people who do not run a risk of heart attack, these results have minimal implications," Evans said in a statement.
The study does not show how medications can cause heart attacks. There are several theories on how this could happen.
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