Heart Attack Risks Are Increased By Use Of High Doses Of Painkillers

Long-term high-dose use of pain killers such as ibuprofen diclofenac is "eually hazardous" in terms of heart attack risks as use of the drug Vioxx which was withdrawn due to its potential dangers, reserchers say. Presenting the results of a large international study into a class of painkillers called non steriodal anti-flammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the researcher said high dose of them increase the risks of a major vascular event- a heart attack, stroke or dying from cadiovascular disease - by around a third. This means that for every 1,000 people with an average risk of heart disease who take dichlofenac or ibuorofen for a year, about three extra would have an avoidable heart attack, of which one would be fatal, researchers say. This puts the risk of genetic NSAIDs on a par with a newer class of NSAIDs known as COX-2 inhibitors or coxibs, which includes Vioxx - a painkiller that US drug maker Merck pulled from sale in 2004 because of links to heart attacks.