MEDIA STATEMENT

23rd June 2006

NSAIDs and the risk of heart attack

The International Ibuprofen Foundation (IIF) has studied the Danish report that people who have had a heart attack may be at higher than normal risk of a further attack and of death if they are given, after recovery, high doses of two types of painkilling drugs – selective COX-2 inhibitors (coxibs) or nonselective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, diclofenac and others).

It is made clear in the report that the COX-2 and NSAID figures were taken from prescription claims for them after their discharge from hospitals, so that this is different from the usual buying of NSAIDs over the pharmacy counter by people who have not had heart attacks. The risk of a further heart attack rose with rising doses of the drugs, so that the highest risk was with much higher doses than normally taken when used as an over-the-counter medicine for pain.

People who have had one heart attack are more prone to have another attack than are people with no ‘heart history’ to have a first one, so that the study patients were already known to be at higher than normal risk even without the addition of an NSAID or COX-2 inhibitor. The study results are not relevant to the normal use of NSAIDs as useful medicines for arthritic and other pains.

The IIF advises that if you have had a heart attack and are taking a COX-2 drug or an NSAID for pain, you should talk to your doctor on how you can best treat it. This may include using the lowest dose that is effective for your pain, and taking it for as short a time as possible.

People who have not had a heart attack can be reassured that this study result and its advice is not aimed at them.

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