Heart Problems Blamed On Inhaler Drugs
Millions of people could be at risk for heart attacks thanks to inhaler drugs used for emphysema and bronchitis, according to a new study.
The results aren’t conclusive; but they do maintain inhalers provide significant relief for these patients struggling to breathe.
However, the study authors told doctors to closely monitor patients who use the inhalers.
Many affected patients suffer from emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
The condition’s formal name, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, is the nation’s fourth leading cause of death.
Independent experts said the study was compelling but has limitations that make it hard to know if the drugs or another factor was at fault.
The drug tiotropium is sold under the name Spiriva Handihaler by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and ipratropium, available generically and also sold by Boehringer under the brand name Atrovent.
Four year old Spiriva and the decade-old Atrovent are used once or more daily to relax muscles and open lung airways.
The new study appears in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
The company told the Food and Drug Administration earlier this year that its own data had linked Spiriva with a possible increased risk for strokes.
However, Boehringer and Pfizer Inc., which jointly market Spiriva, said initial concerns about strokes were unfounded.
"We strongly disagree with the conclusion" in the new study, the companies said in a statement.
Researchers say COPD affects as many as 24 million Americans and kills more than 100,000 each year.
It causes thickened and narrowed lung airways and excess mucous. Symptoms include persistent coughing and severe shortness of breath.
It found that using either drug for more than one month appeared to increase chances for fatal and nonfatal heart problems including heart attacks by more than 50 percent.
Out of 40 patients using either drug for one year, there would be one extra drug-linked death, said study author Dr. Sonal Singh of Wake Forest University’s medical school.
Alternative drugs are used for COPD, but they also can have serious side effects, Singh said. This puts patients in "a very tough spot.”
Dr. Mark Rosen, former president of the American College of Chest Physicians and a lung specialist on New York’s Long Island, said the data "are very compelling but they’re not conclusive."
Rosen said the patients on the drugs could have had more heart problems to begin with.
However, Rosen said the study "is an excellent reason to do more research to figure out why this is true, if it is true and not a statistical fluke."
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