Painkillers linked to heart failure: study
Some of the most common drugs to treat pain & inflammation, NSAIDS found to pose risk of heart failure in older people.
Some of the most common drugs to treat pain & inflammation, NSAIDS found to pose risk of heart failure in older people.
HEALTH
Painkillers linked to heart failure: study
28/09/2016
AFP News Agency
Common painkillers have been linked to increased risk of heart failure, according to a study released Thursday.
Non-steroidal anti - inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used to treat pain and inflammation include such drugs as ibuprofen and naproxen and diclofenac.
Many are among the most commonly used drugs to alleviate pain and inflammation, and some were introduced over a century ago with minimal safety checks.
The broad link between the use of NSAIDs and heart failure is well-established, but which drugs pose the greatest risk, and at what doses, remains poorly understood.
THE STUDY
To get a clearer picture, a team of researchers led by Giovanni Corrao at the University of Milano-Bicocca combed through the medical records of nearly 10 million NSAID users in four European countries: Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Italy.
They identified 92,163 hospital admissions for heart failure and then checked to see which of 27 drugs -- and at what doses -- each of them was taking.
RAISES RISK OF HOSPITAL ADMISSION
Overall, they found that current use of NSAID slightly raised the risk of hospital admission compared to past use for nine drugs.
These included diclofenac, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ketorolac, naproxen, nimesulide, and piroxicam, along with two COX 2 inhibitors, etoricoxib and rofecoxib.
At very high doses, some doubled the risk of hospital admission.
BE CAREFUL TAKING PAINKILLERS
The BBC article on the study includes additional important precautions on taking painkillers worth remembering (from here).
The lowest dose possible of NSAIDs for the shortest possible time is recommended by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
There is no need to worry if painkillers are taken only occasionally for aches and pains or sports injuries.
For most people under age 65 the findings are said to not be relevant, but young people are warned against taking the drugs regularly.
For the elderly above 80 the findings are said to be especially relevant.
The people in the study were older and generally in poorer health since they were taking painkillers.
Older people typically have joint problems such as arthritis.
NSAIDs, a group of drugs commonly taken by patients with joint problems, also increase the risk of developing heart failure.
For people with hypertension, diabetes or kidney problems, these drugs may also pose a risk.
TAKE PAINKILLERS FOR THE RIGHT REASON
Over-the-counter painkillers should always be used for the right reasons.
Ibuprofen is an anti - inflammatory drugs that can be used for damaged muscles with inflammation.
For a headache where inflammation is not an issue it is better to just take an ordinary painkiller like paracetemol.
NOT CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT
The researchers emphasised that the study was observational, meaning that it did not benefit from the controlled conditions of an experiment and thus could not draw firm conclusions about cause and effect.
But the findings "offer further evidence that the most frequently used individual NSAIDs and selective COX2 inhibitors are associated with an increased risk of hospital admissions," they concluded.
The study was published in BMJ, a leading medical journal.
DICLOFENAC NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL
"Even a small increase in cardiovascular risk is a concern for public health," two Danish heart experts, Gunnar Gislason and Christian Torp-Pedersen, wrote in a comment, also in BMJ.
For one drug in particular -- diclofenac -- the European Society of Cardiology has recommended against its use at any dose, they noted.
BRITISH NHS MOVING AWAY FROM NSAIDS
Helen Williams, a consultant pharmacist for cardiovascular disease at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Britain, noted that the country's National Health Service (NHS), the government organization that provides universal healthcare coverage in the UK, had been "moving away" from the powerful NSAIDs in recent years.
"Reassuringly," she added, "use of the most commonly purchased NSAID -- ibuprofen -- was associated with a lower overall increased risk" compared to the other medicines, she added in a comment released by the Science Media Centre.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37496348
สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/1099048/painkillers-linked-to-heart-failure-study
