Painkillers raise blood pressure in women-U.S. study

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Women who take higher doses of
common, over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen and even
Tylenol have higher blood pressure than women who do not, U.S.
researchers reported on Monday.

Only aspirin did not raise the risk of high blood pressure
among the women, who were followed for three to four years to
see which ones developed high blood pressure.

The researchers said their findings, published in the
journal Hypertension, add to a growing list of research that
suggests all painkillers, prescription and non-prescription,
carry health risks and should be used carefully.

This includes acetaminophen or paracetamol, sold by Johnson
& Johnson Co. under the brand name Tylenol.

“In our study, women who took 500 milligrams (mg) or more
of acetaminophen per day, on average, were about twice as
likely to develop high blood pressure as women who did not use
acetaminophen,” said Dr. John Phillip Forman of Harvard Medical
School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who led the
study.

“In addition, older women, ages 51 to 77, who used an
average of 400 mg or more per day of ibuprofen were about 80
percent more likely to develop high blood pressure compared to
older women who did not use this drug,” Forman added in a
statement.

“Younger women, ages 34 to 53, who used more than 400 mg a
day of ibuprofen had a 60 percent higher chance of developing
high blood pressure.”

For their study, Forman and colleagues studied one group of
1,903 women aged 51 to 77 and a second group of younger women
aged between 34 and 53. The women did not have high blood
pressure then the studies began but were regularly questioned
about various aspects of their health and lifestyle, including
what drugs they took, and watched.

The study is especially important as prescription drugs
called COX-2 inhibitors have also been shown to raise the risk
of blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. Patients were
turning to over-the-counter alternatives, despite evidence that
these can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and can also raise
blood pressure.

AWARENESS OF RISKS

“I am not advocating that these medications be abandoned.
People with chronic pain need to be able to treat their pain,”
Forman asked in a telephone interview.

“But probably most people go in and see them on the shelf
and think they have no risks and that they are completely safe
because they are available without a prescription.”

The findings held whether women used the drugs for
headache, arthritis or other aches and pains.

They could explain why high blood pressure, which itself
raises the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure, is
so common in the United States.

While aspirin has been shown to prevent heart disease, the
research is murkier on the other drugs, known as non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS. Acetaminophen was not
believed to affect heart risk either way.

But Forman’s team noted that acetaminophen and NSAIDS can
affect endothelial function — altering the healthy workings of
the linings of blood vessels.

NSAIDS, except for aspirin, do this by affecting compounds
produced in the body called prostaglandins.

“Although aspirin also inhibits prostaglandin synthesis, it
has not been associated with endothelial dysfunction. On the
contrary, aspirin may improve endothelial function, as has been
documented in patients with atherosclerosis,” the researchers
wrote.