Source: BBC Health News; British Medical Journal
Studies continue to suggest that frequent and long-term use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen (frequently prescribed to treat conditions such as arthritis) can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. 
A recent report from Swiss medical researchers, published in the British Medical Journal, sourced data from over 100,000 patients involved in some 31 clinical trials. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) included in the study were: naproxen; ibuprofen; diclofenac; celecoxib; etoricoxib; rofecoxib and lumiracoxib. Rofecoxib (known better as Vioxx) was withdrawn from the market in 2004 when other studies found a raised risk of heart attacks. Researchers found the medicine increased the risk of death from stroke or heart attack 2-4x. Professor Peter Weissberg who commented upon the issue stated, “This confirms what has been known for some years now – taking non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs on a regular basis increases heart attack or stroke risk. The Data:
- Elderly people with chronic musculoskeletal conditions have a 1% risk over one year of heart attack/stroke
- When taking NSAIDs, the risk is raised to 2-4%
- The trials included 116,429 patients
- In 29 trials there was a total of 554 heart attacks, in 26 trials there were 377 strokes and in 28 trials there were 676 deaths
Simon Maxwell, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh echoed the concerns of his British colleague , “The advice to the public should continue to be to take this class of drugs only when they are genuinely necessary to control pain and in the lowest effective dose.” Not surprisingly, a spokeswoman for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said patients should not be alarmed about the results from the study. ~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire