From The Web / What’s Behind the Heartbreaking Risk of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Researchers have known for more than a decade that the risk of heart disease and stroke increases when people take pain relievers like ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Now, scientists from the University of California, Davis, have uncovered some of the reasons why these drugs can harm heart tissue.
The study was recently published online in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology.
Working with heart cells from rats and mice, the team found that NSAIDs:
“We knew these non-steroidal anti-inflammatories had negative side effects for heart disease and stroke risk, ” said corresponding author Aldrin Gomes, a UC Davis associate professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. “But now we have an idea of some of the mechanisms behind it.”
Drugs affect cardiac cells
The scientists compared naproxen, considered the safest available NSAID and available over the counter, with another, more potent anti-inflammatory, the prescription drug meclofenamate sodium. They found that:
Source: Medical Xpress