NSAID CV Risk Persists for at Least Five Years Post-MI

Aspirin is a NSAID.

The latest study to investigate the effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with a previous MI has found that the increased cardiovascular risk associated with these drugs persists for at least five years after the MI.

The study, published online in Circulation...was led by Dr Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen (Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte, Denmark).

She commented to heartwire : "We know that MI patients have an increased risk of a subsequent MI and that this decreases with time. We have also shown before that the risk of recurrent events is higher in patients taking an NSAID, but we have not known before how this risk varies with time. In this study, we show that the increased cardiovascular risk with an NSAID appears to remain constant with time after MI. In other words the risk appears to be similarly elevated at one year post-MI and five years post-MI.

"So NSAIDs are still dangerous to patients with a history of MI, even five years after their event. I would say there is no safe treatment window for these patients, and even short-term treatment with an NSAID is hazardous," Schjerning Olsen added.

And for how long have you heard to take aspirin to prevent a heart attack?

Still think they have any idea what they are talking about?