After Heart Attack, Certain Painkillers May Raise Risk for Recurrence

Results of a Danish study found that people with a history of heart attack are at an increased risk of suffering another heart attack or death if they use certain types of prescription or over-the-counter pain medicines for even as little as one week. These drugs include Advil, Motrin or Voltaren. The study found that those taking certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) for one week have a 45 percent heightened risk of suffering another heart attack. For those on the drugs for 3 months, the risk increases to 55 percent.

The most common NSAIDs prescribed to study participants were ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren). Diclofenac carried the highest cardiovascular risk, even greater than rofecoxib (Vioxx), an NSAID banned in the United States in 2004 because of a higher rate of heart attacks and strokes among those taking it.

Dr. Elliott Antman, professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, says that if a heart patient also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis or Lupus, they should try non-drug pain relief methods, such as physical therapy, heat and splints, or other types of pain relievers before resorting to NSAIDs. It is important to talk to your doctor about all your medications so they know exactly what you are taking.

Check out these links for more information:

Chronic Pain Medications (American Academy of Family Physicians)

Medication Guide for Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) (Food and Drug Administration)

Prescription Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Medications (American Academy of Family Physicians)

Pain Relievers Linked to Higher Risks of Heart-Related Deaths Among Healthy People (American Heart Association)

Back Pain

I figured since so many people suffer from one kind of back pain or another, I'd post some links to some quality information on back pain--overviews, treatment, and prevention.

Low Back Pain Fact Sheet (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

What Is Back Pain? (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Low Back Pain (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) this site has some great illustrations

Back Pain (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Back Exercises Interactive Tutorial (Patient Education Institute)

Back Pain Prevention (North American Spine Society)

Prevent Back Pain (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)

Low Back Pain Exercise Guide (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
This guide can help you better understand your exercise and activity program, which should be supervised by your therapist and orthopaedic surgeon.

Pain

I thought I'd provide some information on a very common problem that has affected everyone at one time or another--pain. I want to share some information that I came across on two different issues of pain management.

I think just about everyone has bought some kind of over-the-counter pain medication for those times when you are suffering from some kind of pain, whether it be over exertion or a headache or some other kind of pain. There are a lot of important health issues to keep in mind when selecting a pain medication. Each medicine has different ingredients and it's important to know what's in the medicine you're taking to make sure it doesn't interact with something else you're taking or some condition you may have.

The American Pain Foundation has a wonderful web page on over-the-counter pain medications called Nonprescription Medicines.

Now, there are people who suffer from chronic pain who can't find relief with nonprescription medicines. There are doctors who specialize in pain medicine and if your pain is bad enough, you should think about seeing a pain specialist. The American Society of Anesthesiologists has a web page called The Management of Pain that describes exactly what a pain specialist does and how they can help you. I highly recommend you take a look at that site if you, or someone you know, suffers from chronic pain that is not under control.