According to new research, painkillers can increase your risk of a heart attack by 50%. But what does that actually mean?
Painkillers are turning out to be a real pain: according to a new study in the BMJ, taking them for just a week can increase your risk of a heart attack by 50%. The research suggested that the risk associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was greatest with higher doses and during the first month of use, with a potential increase in risk of 75% for ibuprofen and naproxen, and more than 100% for rofecoxib.
It all sounds bad but, if your risk is very low – say, one in a million – a 100% increase means you still only have a two in a million chance. Of course, all painkilling medication that works can have side-effects – nothing is guaranteed to be safe and effective. Paracetamol has very few (unless taken in excess, in which case it can cause fatal liver damage), but it isn’t very effective.
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