Irish patients using the anti-inflammatories, including ibuprofen and naproxen, have been advised to speak to their GP and keep their dose as low as possible after new research indicated a possible increased rate of heart attacks from the medication.
Last year trials raised concerns over two drugs in a class of medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, leading to one of them, Vioxx, being taken off the market.
This morning the results of a new trial indicated further evidence that some may increase the risk of heart attacks in some patients.
"We think more data and more research is needed to formally evaluate the safety of all these drugs," Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox, of the University of Nottingham in England, said today.
The findings of her study of more than 9,000 patients, which is reported in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), suggest that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, increase the danger of heart attack. "Our findings support existing knowledge and raise questions over additional drugs," said Hippisley-Cox.
Professor Peter Weissberg of the British Heart Foundation said the link between COX-2 inhibitors and increased risk of heart attack is now well established.
"Doctors know that prescribing these drugs should be avoided in people with poor health," he said. But he added that the question about whether regular use of other types of NSAIDs can increase the risk of heart problems has not been satisfactorily answered.
The Irish Society for Rheumatology advised Irish people taking anti-inflamatories not to panic and to continue their medication until they spoke to their doctor.
It suggested that patients keep their dose to the lowest which controls their symptoms and said that the risk of heart attack on these drugs was very low.