Painkiller Dangerous for Heart Patients

Ibuprofen may increase the likelihood of heart problems in high-risk heart patients who have osteoarthritis, suggests a U.S. study.

Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York compared cardiovascular health over a one-year period in more than 18,000 patients. The patients, who were older than 50 and had osteoarthritis, were taking part in the Therapeutic Arthritis Research and Gastrointestinal Event Trial.

The study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases found high-risk patients taking aspirin and ibuprofen were about nine times as likely to have heart attacks and strokes over one year as those on the drug lumiracoxib.

The researchers said their findings suggest ibuprofen interferes with the blood thinning properties of aspirin in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease.