Known painkiller ibuprofen apparently not as safe as thought

Ibuprofen increases the risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease if osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis is present
Cardiovascular disease risk is much higher for the pain medication ibuprofen than for other painkillers when the patients have osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. This was the result of a recent study presented at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona. Ibuprofen is often used in practice to relieve pain and inflammation.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen as well as the Cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib are among the most prescribed and used medications worldwide. Both classes of medication are known to cause side effects such as high blood pressure. Even small increases in blood pressure can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and the associated mortality. Now, a recent study shows that ibuprofen has a significantly less favorable effect than naproxen and celecoxib.

The use of painkillers can lead to health problems. Especially the elderly are at risk of taking so-called NSAIDs. (Image: Sherry Young / fotolia.com)

A total of 444 US patients participated in the study, 408 suffered from arthritis, and 36 from rheumatoid arthritis. All patients showed or were at higher risk for coronary heart disease. One third of the patients received celecoxib (2x 100-200 mg daily), one third each ibuprofen (3x 600-800 mg daily) or naproxen (2x 375-500 mg daily). After four months, the blood pressure was compared with that at the beginning of the study.

While celecoxib lowered blood pressure by 0.3 mmHg on average, it increased by 3.7 mm with ibuprofen and by 1.6 mmHg with naproxen. "The rise in blood pressure under ibuprofen is significant," says Prof. Frank Ruschitzka, head of the study and deputy director of the Department of Cardiology at the University Heart Center Zurich. Ibuprofen was "clearly not as safe as it used to be". The results are of great clinical importance, especially for older patients, who often suffer from arthrosis and high blood pressure, "Ruschitzka explains:" Lowering blood pressure by just 2 mmHg reduces the risk of heart attack by ten percent and the mortality risk in coronary heart disease by seven percent . "

The study is a complementary study to the PRECISION study. This has already shown that celecoxib does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease more than naproxen and ibuprofen. Both naproxen and ibuprofen are available over the counter and are taken by hundreds of millions of people every year. Both medications have been shown to cause gastrointestinal upset and damage to the kidneys and gastric mucosa.