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Safety Information for Patients Taking Vioxx,
Celebrex, Bextra, Naprosyn, and other Drugs that May Elevate
the Risk of Heart Attack
Recent data has shown
that there may be an increased risk of heart attack associated
with taking these drugs. Get more news
and information here.
What you should do:
Celebrex,
Bextra, Naprosyn and Vioxx are very helpful drugs that some
persons need for arthritis, inflammation and the associated
pain.
Each person should weigh their personal heart attack risk
and act accordingly. Patients should not take more that the
dosage recommended by their doctor. Patients who can discontinue
the drugs or switch to other drugs, such as tylenol, should
consider doing so.
Persons at very low risk of heart attack may not choose to worry
at all and may choose to continue taking the medicines as directed,
using no more than the recommended dose. Persons with significantly
elevated risk of heart attack should consider discontinuing
the drugs if they can do without them or find substitute medications,
such as tylenol.
Remember that risks need to be weighed against benefits. We
all know that driving our cars brings us a risk of a serious
car accident, but we are willing to take that risk since we
feel it's reasonable. Many persons continue to smoke cigarettes,
or fail to use their seatbelts, or they choose risky sports
or hobbies. The increased risks of heart attack or stroke associated
with Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra and Naprosyn may be resonable risks,
especially in a person who really needs these medications and
who has no other risk factors for heart attack or stroke.
Painkillers suspected of causing fatal heart disease may act
by starting the process of hardening the arteries. The drugs,
known as COX-2 inhibitors, are popular prescription painkillers.
Tests on mice suggest COX-2 inhibitors might be especially dangerous
to younger women, who are normally protected by biology from
heart disease. A fatty acid made by the cyclooxygenase-2, or
COX-2, enzyme protects female mice from hardening of the arteries.
Shutting down COX-2 long term may actually kick-start the process
of atherosclerosis.
A different study involving Alzheimer’s disease prevention was
suspended after researchers said there were more heart attacks
and strokes among patients taking naproxen, an over-the-counter
pain reliever in use for 28 years and commonly known under the
brand name Aleve.
The study, involving some 2,500 patients, was to test
whether naproxen or Celebrex, both pain relievers, could reduce
the risk of Alzheimer’s disease among healthy elderly patients
who were at an increased risk of the disease.
Celebrex was found
to have risks as well. The National Cancer Institute, which
was conducting a separate cancer-prevention trial for Pfizer,
said patients in the clinical trial taking 800 milligrams of
Celebrex had a 3.4 times greater risk of cardiovascular events
compared to a placebo. For patients in the trial taking 400
milligrams of Celebrex the risk was 2.5 times greater. The average
duration of treatment in the trial was 33 months.In the 2,000
patient study, 15 individuals taking 400 mgs, 20 patients taking
800 mgs and 6 patients on placebo suffered either a cardiac-related
death, heart attack or stroke.
Portions of this page adapted from news presented on msnbc,
www.msnbc.com on 12/21/04
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