Thursday, August 31, 2006

Celebrex bad for the heart

The pain reliever Celebrex may be effective in preventing colon cancer, but it's risk to the heart outweighs the benefit, according to two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

USA Today reports:
... Celebrex doubled the risk of serious cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and death, according to a separate analysis in the journal Circulation released Wednesday. That makes Celebrex too risky to be used for polyp prevention, according to an editorial in the New England Journal by Bruce Psaty of the University of Washington and John Potter of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.