Ibuprofen linked to increased risk of heart attacks

Conclusion This study is a useful addition to our knowledge about the links between NSAIDs and heart attack risk. The study suggests all commonly-used NSAIDs are linked to a similarly-raised risk of heart attacks, that the risk generally rises with the dose, and that it is highest in the first month of treatment. The researchers did a good job at taking account of potential confounding factors that could have affected the results. Even so, we don't know for sure that the NSAIDs were the direct cause of the problem. For example, if you are prescribed NSAIDs for a painful condition, and have a heart attack two weeks later, it's hard to know whether the cause was the NSAID or the condition itself. They were also not able to take into account some known risk factors for heart attacks such as smoking and body mass index (BMI). The study doesn't tell us about our own individual risk of heart attack, which is important when thinking about how you might be affected by NSAIDs. If your risk of having a heart attack in the next 10 years is high – say 30% – then a 48% increased chance of heart attack takes it up to just under 45%. But if you have a low risk of having a heart attack – say 1% – then a 48% increase only takes the risk up to 1.48%. An increase in risk may be statistically significant, but have little clinical significance. The study findings back up current advice that doctors should consider people's heart attack risk before prescribing courses of NSAIDs, particul...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news