A British study of prescription strength ibuprofen and other painkillers warns that regular intake of the anti-inflammatory medicines could raise the risk of having a heart attack-especially among elderly patients.
The researchers have been cautious however about advising patients to stop taking the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as further research is required.
“We have identified an increasing risk, which rises with the dosage of ibuprofen and the time it is used,” Researcher Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox said. “We want to see this study followed up.”
Last year’s concern over a family drugs known as Cox-2s, used in arthritis medications like Vioxx and Celebrex, spurred on the study for further investigation.
Published in the British Medical Journal, the study examined 9,218 British patients between 25 and 100 years old, who had suffered a first time heart attack over a four-year period.
Weighing other factors like age, obesity, smoking, and existing heart disease, researchers looked at whether patients had been prescribed NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, diclofenac,
Patients who had taken NSAIDs within three months of their first heart attack showed a greater risk than those who had not take the drugs for three years.
Vioxx increased the risk by 32%, Celebrex by 21%.
As far as anyone knows, there doesn’t seem to be a risk with occasional low-dosage over the counter ibuprofen.
“Our study only looked at prescriptions by GPs. People using over-the- counter ibuprofen tend to take it for shorter periods and in much lower doses and we just don’t know if there’s any kind of risk there,” Hippisley-Cox said.
