Common Pain Killing drugs lead to Heart problems

It is interesting to compare what the Conventional Medical Establishment tells us about pharmaceutical drugs, and what they refuse to tell us. The Health Sciences Institute has done just this in a recent newsletter (to receive their newsletter, well worthwhile, go to their website at http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/.

          "Higher daily dose of aspirin could play key role in preventing heart attacks for those with diabetes."

That is the kind of 'good' news we so often hear from the NHS, which is so readily peddled in the mainstream media.

          Higher daily dose of aspirin could play key role in preventing heart attacks for those with diabetes" University of Alberta press release, 7/5/11, eurekalert.org 


What you won't hear is any 'news' to the contrary. For instance, this research will almost certainly not be taken up by GPs, the NHS, or the mainstream media.


"Common Painkillers May Increase Risk of Irregular Heart Rhythm" MyHealthNewsDaily, 7/5/11, myhealthnewsdaily.com 

The drugs implicated in this research is not just aspirin, but that whole group of commonly available painkillers called NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

     "... Danish researchers compared medical records for about 32,000 atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with medical records for more than 320,000 healthy subjects. Results showed that 60 days or more of NSAID use increased AF risk by 40 per cent, and the same amount of COX-2 inhibitor use increased risk by 70 per cent.

     AF is associated with the long-term risk of stroke and heart failure - and therefore death. But there are more well-known risk with taking NSAIDs - stomach bleeding - which the American Gastroenterological Association says results in more than 100,000 admissions to hospital each year (and I believe that figure in just the USA).

Nonsteriodal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)" American Gastroenterological Association, 4/24/10, gastro.org 

There are no safe pharmaceutical drugs. The best thing anyone can do is to avoid them - and look for a safer medical therapy.

Common painkillers triple risk of stroke

The British Medical Journal has published evidence that common painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen double the risk of a heart attack, and triple the chance of stroke. The researchers were alerted to the potential dangers of anti-inflammatory painkillers following the withdrawal of Vioxx (rofecoxib) after it was found to cause heart disease and death.

Vioxx was a COX-2 inhibitor, a ‘new generation’ anti-inflammatory supposedly safer than the older NSAIDs (non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs), such as aspirin.  But the researchers found that the risk exists across the entire family of drugs when they analysed the results of 31 drug trials, involving 116,429 participants.

The researchers conclude that the drugs – many of which can be purchased without a prescription in pharmacies – are not safe, and should be taken with great care.
(Source: British Medical Journal, 2011; 342: c7086).

Thanks to WDDTY for this story:
http://www.wddty.com/common-painkillers-triple-risk-of-stroke.html