PISCATAWAY, N.J., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists said a study in dogs indicates the painkiller acetaminophen may help protect the heart from damage incurred after a heart attack.
The over-the-counter drug, which is sold under the trade name Tylenol, reduced the size of damaged heart tissue by 60 percent in dogs that had undergone a simulated heart attack, researchers from Rutgers University reported in the November issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
The findings also suggest acetaminophen may help control arrhythmias or abnormal beating of the heart.
The study may help reverse a widely held belief among the medical community that acetaminophen offers no benefit in treating heart disease, the researchers wrote. They noted their results combined with other evidence "suggest that acetaminophen is among the most efficacious of the cardioprotective agents discovered to date."
However, they caution dogs metabolize acetaminophen differently than people, so further studies are needed to confirm these initial results.
