Originally published August 30 2005
Scientists link hypertension to the use of some painkillers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Nurses Health Study at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston conducted studies that prove women who use non-aspirin painkillers (like extra-strength Tylenol) are twice as likely to develop high blood pressure, The Washington Post reports.
Women taking daily amounts of non-aspirin painkillers _ such as an extra-strength Tylenol _ are more likely to develop high blood pressure than those who don't, a new study suggests.
While many popular over-the-counter painkillers have been linked before to high blood pressure, acetaminophen, sold as Tylenol, has generally been considered relatively free of such risk.
It is the only one that is not a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID, a class of medications the federal government just required to carry stricter warning labels because of the risk for heart-related problems.
Many had turned to those painkillers in the wake of problems with prescription drugs, such as Vioxx.
The research found that aspirin still remains the safest medicine for pain relief.
It has long been known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems and was not included in the government's requirement for stricter labels for NSAIDs.
Results were published online Monday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.
They found that that women ages 51-77 who took an average daily dose of more than 500 milligrams of acetaminophen _ one extra-strength Tylenol _ had about double the risk of developing high blood pressure within about three years.
"We are by no means suggesting that women with chronic pain conditions not receive treatment for their pain," lead author Dr. John Phillip Forman, of Harvard Medical School and associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said in an e-mail.
As for why aspirin didn't raise risk, it might be because "aspirin has a different effect on blood vessels than NSAIDS and acetaminophen have," said Dr. Daniel Jones, dean of the school of medicine at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
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