Drugs Increase Heart Risk

LONG-TERM use of aspirin-like drugs reduces the risk of mouth cancer in smokers but raises the chances of death from heart disease, say researchers.

Previous studies had suggested that the medicines, called non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), could help prevent several types of cancer. But prolonged use of such drugs has also been shown to cause heart problems.

Researchers in Norway studied 454 people with mouth cancer from a group of 9,241 heavy smokers.

They were matched against a similar number of heavy smokers who did not have mouth cancer.

A total of 263 participants used NSAIDs, which were found to reduce the risk of mouth cancer by 53%.

But the investigators also found that long-term use doubled the relative risk of death due to heart disease