---------- Forwarded message ---------- June 10, 2005 Popular Pain Killers May Increase Risk Of Heart Attack Physicians have warned that the popular painkillers like ibuprofen can raise the risk of having a heart attack. A study by British researchers suggests that regular use of the drug increases the chances of an attack by almost a 25%. Other painkillers in the same family of anti-inflammatory drugs, which are used by millions of arthritis patients, may be even more dangerous, raising the risk by up to 55 percent, according to the study. Thisislondon.co.uk cites Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, as saying: "Patients should be reassured that although this study raises some questions, there is no need to panic. And patients should not suddenly stop taking their medicines." The study from researchers at Nottingham University examined a range of painkillers, and indicated that they all increased heart attack risk when taken in the three months before the attack. Painkillers have come under increased scrutiny since Merck & Co.'s Sept. 30 withdrawal of Vioxx, or rofecoxib, which was shown to raise the risk of heart disease. Vioxx is a COX-2 inhibitor, a class of anti-inflammatory drugs designed to replace older non-steroid medicines which have been associated with gastrointestinal problems. According to published reports, the study found that Vioxx raised the risk of heart attack by 24 percent, Celebrex by 31 percent, and ibuprofen by 24 percent. For diclofenac, it rose by over a half to 55 percent. The research - published in the British Medical Journal - identified 9,218 patients aged 25 to 100 in England, Scotland and Wales who had suffered a heart attack for the first time during a four-year period. The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that anti-inflammatory drugs were important medicines in the treatment of arthritic and other painful conditions. The agency said it would be examining the new study in the context of other evidence. It added: "Ibuprofen has an excellent safety record."
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