Common painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen almost double the risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, two lethal conditions.
The NSAIDs (non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs), some of the most common drugs in the world, increase the risk of DVT 1.8 fold, a new study has discovered.
The risk is “significant”, say researchers from Bassett Medical Centre in New York, and doctors should be aware of the risk, especially among patients who already have a history of DVT or venous thromboembolism (VTE).
The researchers made the discovery after they reanalysed six studies, which involved 21,401 cases of VTE.
Ian: I just can’t get my head around the use of painkillers. Admittedly I live a charmed life free of extreme pain so I guess that disqualifies me. But when I hear the results coming from people now accessing molecular hydrogen – often people who had almost decided on surgery to stop the pain – I do wonder what it is that keeps people thinking they should use these sorts of pain killers when the side effects are so often experienced.