Over the counter painkillers may increase the risk of cardiac arrest

A new Danish study suggests that over-the-counter painkillers (http:// may increase the risk of cardiac arrest The study, published in the European Journal of Cardiology - cardiovascular drug therapy, found that the use of NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac, increased the risk of cardiac arrest by 31% Professor Gunnar H gislason, Professor of Cardiology at the University of Copenhagen hospital in Denmark, one of the authors of the study, said in a press release: "the results clearly show that NSAIDs are not harmless "NSAIDs should be used with caution and they should be avoided in patients with cardiovascular disease or many cardiovascular risk factors For this study, the researchers identified all out of hospital cardiac arrest patients in Denmark between 2001 and 2010 using the national Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry The researchers also collected data from 1995 on all NSAID prescriptions withdrawn from Danish pharmacies They were able to identify 28947 people except for cardiac arrest at the hospital Among them, 3376 patients received NSAID treatment within 30 days before the accident To examine the association between cardiac arrest and NSAID use, the researchers compared patients who used NSAIDs 30 days before cardiac arrest (during the case) with those who used NSAIDs during the first 30 days without cardiac arrest (during the control period) The use of any NSAIDs was associated with a 31% increased risk of cardiac arrest In different NSAIDs, diclofenac and ibuprofen had the highest risk of cardiac arrest, 50% and 31%, respectively Naproxen, together with the COX-2 selective inhibitors celecoxib and rofecoxib, did not increase the risk of cardiac arrest The link between cardiac arrest and increased risk of NSAIDs use may be due to the multiple effects of the drug on the cardiovascular system NSAIDs are known to affect platelet aggregation, which in turn leads to arterial contraction, increased edema and increased hypertension.