For Release at 5:30 PM PT, Sunday Nov. 11, 2001
For More Information, ContactTammy Cussimanio(404) 633-3777 until Nov. 7(415) 905-1005 Nov. 10 - Nov. 15[email protected]
Unlike aspirin, NSAIDs may not reduce the risk of heart attacks
It appears that most of the aspirin-type medications referred to as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) do not decrease the risk of heart attacks with the exception of one, according to research presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting Nov. 10 - 15 in San Francisco, California.
NSAIDs are commonly used in the treatment of arthritis and musculoskeletal pain, and some have suggested that they might confer a protection similar to aspirin against heart attacks. Researchers performed a case-control study in a large health care database containing all prescription, diagnosis and procedure information for patients in the New Jersey Medicare and Medicaid programs. Data on 22,125 patients were examined during a study period of 1991 to 1995. In adjusted analysis, when all NSAIDs were studied as a group, NSAID users had the same risk of heart attacks as non-users. The one exception was naproxen, usage of which appeared to be linked to fewer heart attacks.
"Aspirin has been shown to protect patients from myocardial infarction, but it has not been well understood whether NSAIDs also convey this protection," said Daniel H. Solomon, MD, MPH, a rheumatologist and epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and lead investigator of the study. "We found that use of NSAIDs in general are not associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction. However, use of naproxen, a specific NSAID that is quite commonly used, was associated with a 16% reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction. This effect must be tested in other large databases."
The American College of Rheumatology is the professional organization for rheumatologists and health professionals who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability and curing arthritis and related rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. For more information on the ACR's annual meeting, see http://www.rheumatology.org.
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