Ibuprofen combo may raise heart risk

NEW YORK, April 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. study says doctors need to be cautious about using ibuprofen to treat osteoarthritis patients who have a high risk of heart disease.

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that patients with high cardiovascular risk who take a combination of ibuprofen and aspirin are nine times more likely to suffer a heart attack.

The study, published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, suggests that ibuprofen interferes with the blood thinning properties of aspirin in patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease, the medical school said in a release.

The researchers compared combination treatments of low-dose aspirin with the drugs ibuprofen, naproxen and the cox-2 inhibitor lumiracoxib.

"Ibuprofen has a significantly higher rate of major cardiovascular events, mostly heart attacks, when compared to a COX-2 inhibitor," or naproxin, said Dr. Michael E. Farkouh. "The findings underscore the importance of not only considering the class of NSAIDs used in high risk cardiac patients with osteoarthritis but also making physicians aware of the interaction of NSAIDs with aspirin, diminishing any beneficial effects."