There is a close connection between painkillers and heart diseases. Painkillers act as a boost to heart failure-related diseases. For those who never had a heart failure, the risk of hospitalization for the first time, mostly was due to the use of painkillers. For patients with pre-existing heart failure, painkillers only made things worse.
Most of the common painkillers found in the market today fall under the category of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs, which are mainly used for osteoarthritis, play a major role in aggravating heart failure maladies. The situation becomes alarming in the case of people who are over the age of 60. For those taking blood-pressure-lowering medications for preventing high blood pressure, painkillers are even more dangerous. The use of NSAIDs is directly related to blood pressure and these drugs have more than a say in increasing the blood pressure level.
Pregnant women should think twice before taking any painkillers. Some common painkillers when taken by expectant mothers not only increase the risk of miscarriage, but may also lead to congenital defects in newborn babies. In fact, pregnant women who use NSAIDs are three times more likely to have kids with congenital heart failure. They are also twice more likely to have kids with other birth defect when compared to other women. The risk is much higher if the drugs are consumed close to the time of conception.
Ibuprofen, indomethacin, naproxen, diclofenac, meloxicam, ketoprofen, and piroxicam are a few of the painkillers that have been reviewed by Britain’s Commission on Human Medicines and found to cause strokes and heart disease when taken in high doses. But if you cannot do without painkillers, it is better to follow what experts say and reduce the dose to the lowest possible and for the shortest time. This will always keep you on the safer side.
Tags: Congenital Heart Failure, Pain Killers, Preventing High Blood Pressure
