BEIJING, March 4 (Chinese medianet)-- People who have suffered a cardiac arrest,
the intake of widely used blood thinner Plavix together with a heartburn drug
like Prilosec double their chances of having another, according to researchers.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
tracked 8,205 U.S. patients who were treated for a heart attack or chest pain
known as unstable angina and given Plavix and aspirin. Clopidogrel or Plavix and
aspirin are often used to thin a patient's blood after a heart attack.
Two-thirds of these patients also took a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) such
as AstraZeneca Plc's heartburn drug Prilosec to cut the risk of gastrointestinal
bleeding from blood thinners, and had almost twice the risk of suffering another
cardiac arrest or bout of unstable angina compared to those not taking a PPI,
the researchers said Tuesday.
Dr. Michael Ho of the Denver VA Medical Center, who led the study, said
this drug combination may be responsible for thousands of repeat heart attacks.
"Our study highlights a potential interaction between clopidogrel and PPI
medication. And it suggests that maybe PPI medication should not just be
prescribed routinely or prophylactically in patients who are on aspirin and
clopidogrel," Ho said in a telephone interview.
Some doctors urged caution regarding the findings."If we stop prescribing
PPIs for these patients, we will see more bleeding complications," said Dr. Kirk
Garratt of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
(Agencies)
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