Alarming study finds that NSAIDs after a heart attack can cause dangerous bleeding

Researchers found that even when taken for a short time, NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen were much more likely to cause bleeding that required hospitalization in patients undergoing antithrombotic therapy.

A new study has found that it’s risky to use NSAIDs after a heart attack, even if they were only taken briefly to deal with pain.

The combination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to antithrombotic therapy after a heart attack increases the risk of bleeding, according to Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen of Capenhagen University Hospital as reported by Medpage Today. The findings by her and a group of colleagues were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found that adding NSAID on top of recommended dual antiplatelet therapy using aspirin and clopidogrel resulted in 2.41 times the risk of bleeding requiring hopsitalization as those that didn’t involve NSAIDs.

NSAIDs are a group of common painkillers that include drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. Taking too many can result in gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers, particularly in the case of aspirin.

The study found no safe window for using NSAIDs in combination with therapy, even for just a few days. And things get ever worse after three days of use, with the risk of bleeding require hospitalization increasing 3.37-fold.

In addition, scientists weren’t able to find any cardiovascular benefit with the addition of NSAID, and in fact the drug appears harmful int hat respect.

Overall, NSAID usage created a 40 percent higher risk of negative cardiovascular events versus not taking an NSAID, an doubling of the risk of bleeding requiring hospitalization.

Although Schjerning Olsen’s group wrote that more research would be needed to confirm this alarming find, they recommended that physicians used “appropriate caution” when prescribing NSAIDs for patients in this situation, according to the report.

The American Heart Association currently recommends that patients with established heart disease avoid using NSAIDs, and European agencies have also come to the same conclusion. The findings of this newest study are consistent with prior reports on NSAIDs and should provide a warning to patients with ischemic cardiovascular disease, the group wrote in the study.