Cardiovascular Risk from Common Prescription Painkillers?
The British Medical Journal, or BMJ, an international peer-reviewed medical journal, recently published a study showing that NSAIDS, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and COX-2 inhibitors, a new generation of anti-inflammatory drugs, are associated with an increased risk of hospital admission for heart failure. A team led by the University of Milano-Bicocca’s Giovanni Corrao, studied 10 million NSAID and COX-2 users in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. The team sought to estimate the risk of hospital admission for heart failure for those who use the commonly prescribed painkillers. Among findings: the risk of hospital admission varied between the different NSAIDs and the dose of those NSAIDs. The authors of the study pointed out that with the widespread use of NSAIDs “even a small increase in cardiovascular risk” causes concerns for public health. This was an observational study, and no conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from it. For additional information, please see the BMJ announcement and the study:
British Medical Journal:
