More bad news about heart attack risk from OTC pain meds
When experts say a new study shouldn’t worry you, that’s when you should start running!
And the latest research on those popular OTC and Rx pain relievers called NSAIDs should have everyone concerned. Especially those who are taking them frequently or even daily.
These drugs, which include ibuprofen (Motrin and Advil), naproxen (Aleve), and certain Rx ones such as Celebrex, have (once again) been linked to a big increased risk in suffering a heart attack.
This new study may be the most comprehensive one done to date on the danger involved in doing what you probably don’t think twice about — popping one of these pills for a headache or muscle ache.
But what you really should do is push them as far back as you can in your medicine cabinet.
Because they should be the last thing you reach for…not the first.
Dr. Deepak Bhatt, executive director of a cardiovascular program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said that this new study is “another cautionary tale” about NSAIDs, and that we shouldn’t be “lulled into a place of complacency” about them.
Well, thanks Dr. Bhatt, but I don’t think that we’re the ones to take all the blame here.
I mean how many times has your doctor casually told you to take one of these drugs?
Got a cold, just pop some Motrin. Backache, headache? Get out the Advil. These drugs are the go-to remedy for practically everything — and that’s typically with your doctor’s blessings.
But hopefully this new study will be a wake-up call for doctors as well.
Researchers from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Center looked at data from Canada, Finland and the UK, which covered over 440,000 patients. The NSAIDs these patients took ranged from prescription ones, such as Celebrex and diclofenac, to easy-to-find OTC ones like Advil, Midol and Aleve.
And the bottom line is that using these drugs can significantly up your risk of suffering a heart attack by 20 to 50 percent compared to not taking them.
As you would expect, the biggest risk was found at what the researchers called a high daily dose.
But calling them “higher doses” is a bit misleading — because what was listed as a high dose — 200 mg a day for prescription Celebrex, for example, is exactly what the standard dose is! In fact, for certain conditions double that amount is recommended.
Same for the Rx med diclofenac.
But perhaps the most frightening finding was a “rapid onset” of the heart attack risk during the first week of taking an NSAID. Even the researchers were surprised, saying “we didn’t anticipate that.”
Now, if this sounds a bit familiar to you, you’re right. Just a couple of months ago I told you about research that found taking NSAIDs for a cold or flu can more than triple your risk of having a heart attack. If you’re given an IV of one of these meds in the hospital, that can put you at seven times the risk!
And having a heart attack isn’t the only danger these drugs pose.
Previous studies have found they can put you on the fast track for a stroke, kidney failure and “severe” stomach bleeding.
While the risks continue to pile up, and experts such as Dr. Bhatt warn to not treat them “like candy just because they’re sold over the counter,” most doctors don’t bother to give us any alternatives.
But there are plenty.
Acupuncture, yoga and tai chi can be extremely effective in helping with chronic pain.
Arnica has hundreds of years of use backing it up for pain relief. It comes as a homeopathic remedy to place under your tongue or as a cream or gel to rub on sore spots. And capsaicin, which comes from chili peppers, is also an excellent topical solution.
So why not leave the NSAIDs for when you absolutely, positively need to take one!
“NSAID painkillers like ibuprofen increases heart attack risk” Ashley Welch, May 11, 2017, CBS News, cbsnews.com
