Do Painkillers Present a Heart Risk for Men?

Feb. 27, 2007 — -- Researchers raised the possibility Monday that common painkillers containing aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen could increase men's risk of high blood pressure.

However, the significance of the findings, as well as their likely impact on physicians' practice, is still up for debate.

The study, published in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at 16,000 male subjects. Of these men, those who took drugs such as aspirin, Tylenol and Advil for most days in a week were one-quarter to one-third more likely to be diagnosed as having high blood pressure than men who did not.

The study freshens concerns over a possible link between painkillers and high blood pressure, as a previous study in 2002 has suggested the same association in women taking these medications.

Dr. John Forman of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the study, said in a statement that painkillers represent "a potentially preventable cause of high blood pressure."

However, not all doctors agree that the findings warrant a change in physicians' practice.

"We've known for 25 years that NSAIDs [a class of painkillers] raise blood pressure, and a recent study showed the same for acetaminophen," says Dr. Steve Nissen, president of the American College of Cardiology.

One of the country's top arthritis experts agrees. "The results are not surprising," says Dr. Marc Hochberg, head of the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at the University of Maryland. He says a rise in blood pressure could possibly come from the fluid retention associated with use of the drugs.

Dr. Patrick McBride, associate director of the Preventive Cardiology Program at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, says that if the findings are true, the study shows only a "small difference" in the risk of high blood pressure between those taking painkillers and those who do not.

And Dr. Nortin Hadler, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, calls the study "Much ado about the miniscule.