Taking aspirin or ibuprofen to combat flu ‘increases your risk of a heart attack’
Experts warned patients to consult their doctor before popping the pills for any respiratory illness
PAINKILLERS increase the risk of suffering a heart attack when taken to combat the symptoms of cold or flu, a study found.
Experts yesterday warned patients to consult their doctor or pharmacist before popping the pills for any respiratory illness.
It comes after researchers examined data on 9,793 people admitted to hospital with heart attacks over a seven year period.
They found many had taken nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – NSAIDs – for colds or flu.
The most common NSAIDs in the UK are ibuprofen and aspirin but also include naproxen, diclofenac, celecoxib, mefenamic acid and indomethacin.
And there was a 7.2 times greater risk when patients received the pain-relieving medication intravenously in hospital.
This is compared to the times when patients were not taking the painkillers and did not have a respiratory illness.
It is thought the drugs increased water and salt retention – pushing up blood pressure.
Previous research has implicated respiratory infections and some NSAIDs as potential triggers for heart problems, but earlier studies have examined these risk factors only separately.
Physicians should be aware that the use of NSAIDs during an acute respiratory infection might further increase the risk of a heart attack
Dr Cheng-Chung Fang
Study leader Dr Cheng-Chung Fang, from National Taiwan University Hospital, said: “Physicians should be aware that the use of NSAIDs during an acute respiratory infection might further increase the risk of a heart attack.”
Patients seeking relief from cold and flu symptoms should consult with their doctor or a pharmacist before using the drugs, he added.
The study's findings suggest an association between NSAID use, acute respiratory infections, and increased cardiac risk, but do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
Additional research is needed to clarify the apparent combined effect on risk and how the effect might be managed.
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Future studies could explore which specific NSAIDs may be safer than others for patients with these infections and how illness severity affects the risks, researchers say.
Dr Charlotte Warren-Gash, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “Clinicians should consider both medical conditions and existing medications when prescribing NSAIDs for symptomatic acute respiratory infection relief.”
The study is published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
It comes as another study, published today, found the popular painkillers are mostly useless for treating back pain.
Only one in six patients treated with the pills noticed any significant reduction in pain.
Drug firms said researchers had studied painkillers that were more powerful than those commonly purchased in chemists and supermarkets.
John Smith, from the Proprietary Association of Great Britain, which represents drugs firms, said: "This observational study analysed claims of hospitalised heart attack patients with an average age of 72 years.
"The study was unable to identify the use of over-the-counter NSAIDs in patients.
"Prescribed medicine often contains a higher dosage than over-the-counter medicines, which would typically be used by younger people, at lower doses and for shorter durations than those prescribed."
He said more research is needed to "clarify the associated risk" adding the study "does not prove a cause and effect relationship".
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