STUDY PARTICULARS
- Five population-based healthcare databases from four countries (the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom) were examined.
- 92,163 hospital admissions for heart failure were reviewed and matched with 8,246,403 controls (matched for risk, age, and sex).
LIMITS OF THIS STUDY
- It is an observational study and therefore cannot offer conclusions about cause and effect.
WHAT WAS ALREADY KNOWN
- There is an association between the use of NSAIDs and increased risk of heart failure.
WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS
- Use of any NSAID in preceding 14 days increasing the risk of hospital admission for heart failure by 19%.
- There is a positive correlation between the risk of heart failure and the NSAID dose.
- Traditional NSAIDs (including diclofenac, ibuprofen, indomethacin, naproxen, piroxicam, and rofecoxib) are associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure.
- The most commonly purchased NSAID, ibuprofen, has a lower increased risk of heart failure.
- Risk of admission for heart failure is doubled for some NSAIDs used at very high doses.
- The European Society of Cardiology recommends against using diclofenac at any dose.
- None of the ingredients in InflaCare-X or Relēv-X are associated with an increased risk of heart failure.
- There is clinical evidence that the nutraceuticals and digestive enzymes in these products are effective at reducing the pain and swelling associated with inflammation.
- Serratiopeptidase has been shown in several clinical studies to be as effective as diclofenac at reducing the pain and swelling associated with inflammation and migraine headaches.
Arfe, A. et al. (2016) Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of heart failure in four European countries: nested case-control study. BMJ 354: i4957
Hot Topic Small Talk – Volume 1, Number 1
