The Women’s Health Initiative began more than two decades ago. The study recruited over 160,000 women over the age of 50 20 years ago and has followed them ever since.
New data from the observational arm of this study has prompted a reassessment of the risks of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as celecoxib, diclofenac, ibuprofen or naproxen. Over 11 years more than 50,000 women took one of these NSAID-type pain relievers. The analysis demonstrated that regular NSAID use increased the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Although the increased likelihood of death from cardiovascular causes was modest, so many people take such drugs that that it is worrisome. Naproxen had been thought to be safer than other NSAIDs, but this analysis did not support that conclusion. Earlier this year the FDA turned down a request to label naproxen as less dangerous than other NSAIDs.
[Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, July 8, 2014]
It is intriguing to see that the Women’s Health Initiative, which led to a complete reassessment of the cardiovascular benefits of hormone replacement therapy after menopause, may be leading to another re-evaluation. Although naproxen has long been considered less harmful to the heart than other NSAIDs (think Vioxx), this seems to have been based, perhaps, on incomplete or invalid information. Older women at risk for heart problems may need to think about non-drug approaches to pain control.
