Painkillers May Raise Heart Attack, Stroke Risk, Review Says

By Kristen Hallam

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Commonly prescribed medicines that ease pain by fighting inflammation have been linked to increased risk heart attack and stroke, scientists said.

Naproxen, a generic medicine, appeared to be the least harmful of seven painkillers examined by the Swiss researchers, according to an analysis published today in the British Medical Journal. Ibuprofen, sold as Advil by New York-based Pfizer Inc., was found to be associated with the highest stroke risk, followed by another generic, diclofenac.

The analysis bolsters research linking painkillers to health hazards. Vioxx, from Merck & Co. in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, was withdrawn in 2004 because of heart risks, and Prexige, from Novartis AG in Basel, Switzerland, failed to win U.S. approval in 2007 after Australian regulators became concerned that the product may cause liver damage. Both Vioxx and Prexige were linked to twice the risk of a heart attack compared with a placebo, the analysis found.

“This paper adds to the growing body of evidence” that regular use of the painkillers is associated with increased risk to the heart, said Simon Maxwell, chairman of the London-based British Pharmacological Society’s prescribing committee and a professor at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement.

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I refuse to take prescription painkillers because they constipate me. I have to be in severe pain before I will even consider one.
And, if I do, I always take a vegetable laxative with it.

I take Ibuprofen quite often for headaches, and thanks to your heads up, I am going to switch back to aspirin. We also use Naproxen occasionally, so it's good to know it's a little less harmful.

So, thank you for posting this.

Of course, that's because NOTHING ELSE WORKS, lol.