This article published in 2017 suggests that there is an increased risk of cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is the sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. Sudden cardiac arrest usually results from an electrical disturbance in your heart that disrupts its pumping action, stopping blood flow to the rest of your body. Sudden cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to a portion of the heart is blocked. However, a heart attack can sometimes trigger an electrical disturbance that leads to sudden cardiac arrest.
The two medications they point out as causing increased risk are ibuprofen and diclofenac.
Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Pharmacother. 2017 Apr 1;3(2):100-107. doi: 10.1093/ehjcvp/pvw041.
Sondergaard KB
Abstract
AIMS:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used and have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Nonetheless, it remains unknown whether use of NSAIDs is associated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).
METHODS AND RESULTS:
From the nationwide Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry, all persons with OHCA during 2001-10 were identified. NSAID use 30 days before OHCA was categorized as follows: diclofenac, naproxen, ibuprofen, rofecoxib, celecoxib, and other. Risk of OHCA associated with use of NSAIDs was analysed by conditional logistic regression in case-time-control models matching four controls on sex and age per case to account for variation in drug utilization over time. We identified 28 947 persons with OHCA of whom 3376 were treated with an NSAID up to 30 days before OHCA. Ibuprofen and diclofenac were the most commonly used NSAIDs and represented 51.0% and 21.8% of total NSAID use, respectively. Use of diclofenac (odds ratio [OR], 1.50 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23-1.82]) and ibuprofen [OR, 1.31 (95% CI 1.14-1.51)] was associated with a significantly increased risk of OHCA. Use of naproxen [OR, 1.29 (95% CI 0.77-2.16)], celecoxib [OR, 1.13 (95% CI 0.74-1.70)], and rofecoxib (OR, 1.28 [95% CI 0.74-1.70)] was not significantly associated with increased risk of OHCA; however, these groups were characterized by few events.
CONCLUSION:
Use of non-selective NSAIDs was associated with an increased early risk of OHCA. The result was driven by an increased risk of OHCA in ibuprofen and diclofenac users.