Back in 2013, one Reuters article opened with the following stunning sentence: “Long-term high-dose use of painkillers such as ibuprofen or diclofenac is ‘equally hazardous’ in terms of heart attack risk as use of the drug Vioxx, which was withdrawn due to its potential dangers, researchers said.”
The 2004 Vioxx recall, as you may remember, was spurred by the nearly 30,000 excess cases of heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths caused by the drug between 1999 and 2003. Despite the fact that scientific research had accumulated as early as 2000 linking Vioxx to increased heart attacks and strokes, the drug’s manufacturer, Merck, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration remained silent as the death toll steadily increased. The Reuters report focused on research published in The Lancet indicating the risk of heart attack increases as much as a third and the risk of heart failure doubles among heavier users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
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