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From Harvard, a warning not to take too much Motrin, Aleve or Tylenol. These new findings surprised me so I thought I'd pass them on. "Everything in Moderation" Dr. Rehert
Frequent Pain Medication Use Linked to Hypertension
October 28, 2002 10:31 AM ET
By Alison McCook
October 28, 2002 10:31 AM ET
By Alison McCook
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who frequently take certain over-the-counter pain-relief medications appear to have a higher-than-average risk of developing high blood pressure, new study findings suggest.
Dr. Gary C. Curhan of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and his colleagues found that women between the ages of 31 and 50 who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)--such as ibuprofin (Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve)--at least 22 days per month appear to be 86% more likely than others to develop high blood pressure.
The investigators also discovered that similarly frequent users of acetaminophen (Tylenol) may be twice as likely as others to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure.
The relationship between analgesic use and hypertension persisted even when Curhan's team removed the influence of factors that might lead to both long-term pain problems and high blood pressure, such as obesity and rheumatoid arthritis.
Curhan and his team report their findings in the October 28th issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Curhan said that this is the first study to show that analgesic use may be linked to high blood pressure, so further studies are needed to confirm these findings. That said, however, he pointed out that it makes good biological sense that NSAIDs and acetaminophen could increase a frequent user's blood pressure over time.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine 2002;162:2204-2208.
For the complete article, click here:
http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=healthnews&StoryID=1642928
http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=healthnews&StoryID=1642928
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