Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South) -A group of researchers in Denmark have found that Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs such as Ibuprofen heighten the risk of cardiac arrest, according to media reports.
A Guardian report on Wednesday revealed new data from the European Heart Journal which shows that there is an even higher risk brought by the drug than was originally thought.
The over the counter drug is used by many locally for a variety of illnesses without need for a prescription and research shows that it increases risk by 31%.
One of the NSAIDs, Diclofenac actually raises the risk by 50%.
Prof Gunnar Gislason of the University of Copenhagen who led the study said there is need for tighter control in the selling of the drugs.
“Allowing these drugs to be purchased without a prescription, and without any advice or restrictions, sends a message to the public that they must be safe”.
“The findings are a stark reminder that NSAIDs are not harmless. Diclofenac and Ibuprofen, both commonly used drugs, were associated with significantly increased risk of cardiac arrest”, he said.
Another previous study in September last year by the British Medical Journal found that these drugs were linked to increased risk of heart failure. Previous studies have linked the drugs to abnormal heart rhythm and an increased risk of heart attack ad stroke if taken regularly.
People with heart problems have been urged not to use ibuprofen and other NSAIDs.
The researchers studied data on almost 29 000 patients who suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest recorded in Denmark between 2001 and 2010.
Gislason said people should not take more than 1.200mg of ibuprofen in one day, according to the Guardian report.
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