The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7402 p617
27 May 2006

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NSAIDs may contribute to heart failure admissions

Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by older people is associated with an increased risk of hospital admission for heart failure, a study shows (Heart Online First, 22 May 2006).

A total of 1,396 patients admitted to hospital with heart failure for the first time were compared with 5,000 randomly selected controls. The researchers found that patients who had taken NSAIDs were at a greater risk of being admitted to hospital for the condition than those who did not use NSAIDs (adjusted risk 1.3, 95 per cent confidence interval 1.1–1.6). Patients who used indometacin were at the highest risk (relative risk 3.4, CI 1.5–7.7).

According to the authors, their data suggest that one extra case of first hospital admission for heart failure for every 1,000 users of NSAIDs aged 60 to 84 years could be attributed to the use of NSAIDs each year. They recommend that NSAIDs be used with caution for patients at high risk of hospital admission due to heart failure.