Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Healthwatch, we've been talking about things that can be done to improve heart attack survival rates. Knowing the symptoms of a heart attack, getting help, performing CPR or using an automatic defibrillator are all important. But there's something else you need to be aware of to protect your heart from damage.
You wouldn't think arthritis could have anything to do with heart problems, but some of the medications used to treat arthritis pain have been found to cause heart damage. These drugs, called COX-2 inhibitors, caused fewer stomach problems than other pain relievers, but studies found that they increased the risk for heart attack and stroke. Some of these drugs have been removed from the market.
Dr. Byron Cryer, a doctor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, suggests that arthritis patients talk to their doctors about alternative pain relievers that have fewer risks.
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May 2005
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