Could a stroke or heart attack be a result of taking painkillers? Scientists from the Institute in Bern believe that it is. The Swiss studies included naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib, etoricoxib, rofecoxib and lumiracoxib and proved that they are not completely safe for patients with heart problems.
Pain medications such as naproxen, ibuprofen,diclofenac , celecoxib, etoricoxib, rofecoxib, and lumiracoxib can causestrokeor heart attack . These are the conclusions drawn from 31 clinical trials conducted on over 116,000 patients over 65 years of age.
Which pain relievers can cause a stroke or heart attack?
Painkillers: naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib, etoricoxib, rofecoxib are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), some of them containing the so-called a selective COX-2 inhibitor that directly attacks the enzyme that causes inflammation and pain.
Painkillers naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib, etoricoxib, rofecoxib and lumiracoxib are used in patients suffering, among others, from various rheumatic diseases and osteoporosis .
It turns out that when these drugs are taken regularly in high doses over a long period of time - such as with rheumatic diseases or osteoporosis - the likelihood of having a stroke or heart attack increases.
NSAID drugs: precautions
The authors of the studies emphasize that despite the great uncertainty, there is no convincing evidence to suggest that any of the studied drugs are safe for the cardiovascular system, and they recommend that when prescribing drugs from this group, doctors should take into account whether the patient has no problems with the circulatory system.
It should be emphasized that, considering the number of patients taking these drugs, the number of cases of strokes and heart attacks is really small, but this does not mean that the risk can be ignored.