Painkillers May Raise Risk of Heart Failure
From the May 22,
2006, Reuters Health comes a report of a study from Spain that suggests
that common pain killers in the category of non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), carry an increased risk of a first
hospitalization for heart failure. Medications in the category
include include over-the-counter analgesics such as ibuprofen or naproxen.
In this study Dr.
Consuelo Huerta compared a group of individuals ages 60 to 84 who were
hospitalized for heart failure to a control group. Of those
hospitalized for heart failure, fourteen percent of the heart failure
patients were current NSAID users compared with only 10 percent of those
not using the drugs. Researchers concluded that after ruling out heart
failure risk factors, this represented a 30 percent increased risk of a
first hospitalization for heart failure when using these drugs.
Researchers termed
this as a "considerable public health impact." Oddly, according to
the study, the dose and duration of use of the drugs had no apparent
effects on the rate of increased risk. The article notes that a history of
heart problems greatly increased the risk factors of a first
hospitalization due to these drugs.
Researchers did
point out that their findings corroborated others that showed that NSAIDs
exacerbate heart failure symptoms. However, they note that this new study
adds the finding that NSAIDs increase the risk of hospitalization for
heart failure in patients who do not have a history of heart failure. |