Vioxx & Celebrex Raise Risk of First & Repeat Heart Attack: Large Study
By Angsuman Chakraborty, Gaea News NetworkMonday, January 29, 2007
A large study, conducted by Dr. James M. Brophy and his colleagues, from the McGill University Health Center in Montreal, confirms that selective COX2 inhibitors - Vioxx (rofecoxib) and Celebrex (celecoxib) are both associated with increased risk of repeat heart attack. They also found that Vioxx (rofecoxib), but not Celebrex (celecoxib), is associated with increased risk of a first heart attack.
While Vioxx was pulled from the US market due to an elevated risk of heart attacks and stroke in adults, Celebrex still remains on the US market.
They analyzed data on 125,000 patients, with an average age of 75, who were treated with an NSAID between January 1999 and June 2002.
The heart attack rate ratio with Vioxx use was 1.59 in patients with a prior heart attack and 1.23 in those without a previous heart attack. The rate ratio with Celebrex was 1.40 for a repeat heart attack, but not significant for first-time heart attack.
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Tags: Vioxx
