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Anti-inflammatory drugs can put you at risk for heart attack & nbsp | & nbspPhoto: & nbspGetty Images
New York: If you have been hit by the cold of the winter and are considering medications that relieve your pain, body aches and congestion, be careful. These can also put your heart at risk, warned the American Heart Association. One study found that decongestants and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), found in many cold medicines, were among the drugs that can increase blood pressure.
People who used NSAIDs during the illness were more than three times more likely to have a heart attack in one week compared to the same period about a year ago, when participants were neither sick nor taking an NSAID. "People with high blood pressure or uncontrolled heart disease should avoid taking oral decongestants, and for the general population or for people with low cardiovascular risk, they should use them with the help of of a health care provider, "said Sondra DePalma, of the University of Pittsburgh in the United States.
Decongestants such as pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine contract the blood vessels. They allow less fluid in your sinuses, "what dries you up," said Erin Michos, deputy director of preventive cardiology at the Ciccarone Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The main concerns are those who have had a heart attack or stroke, heart failure or uncontrolled hypertension, said Michos in an article published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Importantly, healthy people can also be at risk. For the study, researchers examined nearly 10,000 people with respiratory infections and hospitalized for a heart attack. The participants were on average 72 years old at the time of their heart attack and many of them had cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension.
Patients should use the two clbades of drugs – decongestants and NSAIDs – wisely and understand the potential side effects. In addition, decongestants should not be taken more than seven days before consulting a health care provider, said DePalma.
One should also rest and drink plenty of fluids if the symptoms are mild or moderate, noted DePalma.
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