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Study Linking NSAIDS With Heart Disease Draws Criticism

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 June 2005, 18:00 CDT

NEW YORK - June 13, 2005 - Even after a pair of Food and Drug Administration advisory panels in February restored faith in the analgesic naproxen sodium, NSAIDS are still being paired with an increase in heart disease, according to a study by Hippisley-Cox published in the British Medical Journal.

In what was said to be the biggest study of its kind to date, the researchers identified 9,218 patients in England, Scotland and Wales who had suffered a heart attack for the first time during a four-year period. They concluded that for those patients taking NSAIDs in the three months before their heart attack, the risk was greater than for those who had not taken the drugs for three years.

The study has drawn criticism from various industry groups, including the International Ibuprofen Foundation and the British Heart Foundation.

"The link between Cox-2 inhibitors and increased risk of heart attack is now well established and doctors know that prescribing these drugs should be avoided in people with poor heart health," said Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the BHF, "The question that has not yet been answered satisfactorily by this study or others, is whether regular use of other types of [NSAID] can increase the risk of heart problems."

The BMJ's own editorial has questioned the study, stating, "The quality of the data on cardiovascular risk factors and other potential confounders was poor."

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©2005 Drug Store News Online

Source: Lebhar-Friedman

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