Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs may Increase Risk of Irregular Heart Beat

Many Americans commonly use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), commonly prescribed to deal with different types of pain and/or inflammation. Yet  a recent study shows that this group of pain relievers may be linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, also known as a fast and irregular heartbeat.

Lead study author Bouwe Krijthe of the Department of Epidemiology at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, analyzed a wide variety of the NSAIDs, including a wide-range of ibuprofen, aspirin, Toradol, naproxen, Celebrex and Aleve.

Researchers studied over 8,000 participants, all an average of 68-years-old, who did not have atrial fibrillation. All were monitored over an average of 13 years. Data from NSAIDs use was also monitored via prescription records.

A follow-up showed that 857 participants were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. From this group, 261 of the patients never used NSAIDs, 554 used NSAIDs in the past and 42 are currently taking the drugs.

The study authors concluded that the risk of atrial fibrillation was higher by 76 percent in patients who had taken NSAIDs. For those who used painkillers recently, findings showed that the risk was even higher at 84 percent.

"Use of NSAIDs has been shown to be associated with heart disease, kidney disease and increased risk of heart failure and heart failure hospitalizations," said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

Though the results may only suggest a correlation and not a cause and effect relationship, researchers note that "the underlying mechanism behind this association [between NSAIDs and atrial fibrillation] deserves further attention."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the study "Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of atrial fibrillation: a population-based follow-up study," in BMJ Open.