In that study published in the June 2005, British Medical Journal, researchers at the University of Nottingham identified 9,218 patients across England, Scotland and Wales, who had suffered a heart attack for the first time, over a specific 4-year period, with ages ranging from 25 to 100.
The researchers examined the prescribing patterns, and took into account other risk factors such as age, smoking habits, and obesity, and found that for patients prescribed the drugs in the three month immediately before the heart attack, the risk increased when compared to patients who had not taken the drugs. With ibuprofen, the risk increased by 24% and with diclofenac the risk increased by 55%.
According to the researchers, given the high prevalence of the use of the drugs by elderly people with an increased risk of heart attack due to age, the findings have considerable implications for public health.
Enough "concerns exist to warrant a reconsideration of the cardiovascular safety of all NSAIDs", they said.
In the May 23, 2006 online version of the journal, Heart, researchers reported that taking NSAIDs could increase the risk of heart failure among the elderly by almost a third.
For this study, researchers from the Spanish Centre for Pharmacoepidemiologic Research in Madrid reviewed the medical records of 228,660 patients beginning on January 1, 1997, and followed the patients until the end of 2000.
Dr Consuelo Huerta and colleagues compared NSAID use among 1,396 patients between the ages of 60 and 84, who were hospitalized for non-fatal heart failure and a random sample of 5,000 subjects.
Of the patients admitted to the hospital, 14% were on NSAIDs at the time of their admission compared to 10% of randomly selected patients. Over half of those admitted to the hospital were in the age group of 70 to 79.
The research team determined that taking NSAIDs increases the risk of getting heart failure by 30%, after other factors are taken into consideration. The results mean that for every 1,000 people aged 60 to 84, taking NSAIDs leads to one extra hospital admission.
But according to the researchers, the number could rise to 3 among older patients with other health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney failure. "Even a small increase in the risk can translate into a significant disease burden in the general population," the researchers noted.
They point out that their findings are compatible with those of other studies indicating that NSAIDs aggravate heart failure symptoms, leading to more hospitalization for susceptible patients, such as those with a history of cardiovascular disease or a previous heart failure.
And finally, on June 3, 2006, researchers in another study from the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues from the University of Rome, published in the British Medical Journal, determined that ibuprofen doubles the risk of a heart attack in patients who take it at high doses over a long period of time.
The study is reportedly the largest and most definitive of its kind into the effect of NSAIDs on the heart, and involves 138 trials covering 140,000 patients. The study combined the results of all trials in order to provide the most reliable estimate of the increased risk.
Two NSAIDs - ibuprofen and the prescription-only diclofenac - increased the risk of a heart attack by almost as much as the Coxib drugs like as Vioxx.
The researchers noted that most of the patients did not have pre-existing heart disease and the increased risk amounted to three extra heart attacks in every 1,000 people taking ibuprofen or diclofenac every year. Overall they increased the risk of any vascular event - heart attack or stroke - by 40%.
Experts says the growing body of evidence indicating the certainty of heart problems caused by the use of these drugs is particularly disturbing, because their use has drastically increased since Vioxx and Bextra were withdrawn from the market.
The researchers examined the prescribing patterns, and took into account other risk factors such as age, smoking habits, and obesity, and found that for patients prescribed the drugs in the three month immediately before the heart attack, the risk increased when compared to patients who had not taken the drugs. With ibuprofen, the risk increased by 24% and with diclofenac the risk increased by 55%.
According to the researchers, given the high prevalence of the use of the drugs by elderly people with an increased risk of heart attack due to age, the findings have considerable implications for public health.
Enough "concerns exist to warrant a reconsideration of the cardiovascular safety of all NSAIDs", they said.
For this study, researchers from the Spanish Centre for Pharmacoepidemiologic Research in Madrid reviewed the medical records of 228,660 patients beginning on January 1, 1997, and followed the patients until the end of 2000.
Dr Consuelo Huerta and colleagues compared NSAID use among 1,396 patients between the ages of 60 and 84, who were hospitalized for non-fatal heart failure and a random sample of 5,000 subjects.
Of the patients admitted to the hospital, 14% were on NSAIDs at the time of their admission compared to 10% of randomly selected patients. Over half of those admitted to the hospital were in the age group of 70 to 79.
The research team determined that taking NSAIDs increases the risk of getting heart failure by 30%, after other factors are taken into consideration. The results mean that for every 1,000 people aged 60 to 84, taking NSAIDs leads to one extra hospital admission.
But according to the researchers, the number could rise to 3 among older patients with other health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney failure. "Even a small increase in the risk can translate into a significant disease burden in the general population," the researchers noted.
They point out that their findings are compatible with those of other studies indicating that NSAIDs aggravate heart failure symptoms, leading to more hospitalization for susceptible patients, such as those with a history of cardiovascular disease or a previous heart failure.
And finally, on June 3, 2006, researchers in another study from the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues from the University of Rome, published in the British Medical Journal, determined that ibuprofen doubles the risk of a heart attack in patients who take it at high doses over a long period of time.
The study is reportedly the largest and most definitive of its kind into the effect of NSAIDs on the heart, and involves 138 trials covering 140,000 patients. The study combined the results of all trials in order to provide the most reliable estimate of the increased risk.
Two NSAIDs - ibuprofen and the prescription-only diclofenac - increased the risk of a heart attack by almost as much as the Coxib drugs like as Vioxx.
The researchers noted that most of the patients did not have pre-existing heart disease and the increased risk amounted to three extra heart attacks in every 1,000 people taking ibuprofen or diclofenac every year. Overall they increased the risk of any vascular event - heart attack or stroke - by 40%.
Experts says the growing body of evidence indicating the certainty of heart problems caused by the use of these drugs is particularly disturbing, because their use has drastically increased since Vioxx and Bextra were withdrawn from the market.
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