Three years ago many folks with arthritis breathed a sigh of relief.
In 2016 a four-year study on the popular prescription drug Celebrex was completed.
Suddenly splashy headlines were EVERYWHERE claiming the arthritis med was no riskier for your heart than other common NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen.
So it’s really no wonder that many folks felt safe continuing to use Celebrex to relieve inflammation and provide pain relief.
The only trouble is the study… and those headlines… missed something incredibly important.
And according to a NEW study that something could essentially turn a part of your heart “to stone.”
Arthritis drug linked to hardened heart valves
Aortic valve stenosis is a condition in which calcium deposits clump up on your heart valves. This turns the valves thick and stiff, almost like stone.
And the narrowed passageway that blood is forced to move through limits the flow to your heart.
Aortic stenosis can cause chest pain, dizziness, and trouble breathing. And eventually, it can even contribute to high blood pressure and heart failure.
The condition doesn’t usually cause symptoms until folks are in their 70s or even 80s.
But if you’re taking a drug which includes the ingredient celecoxib, such as Celebrex, we now know that may happen much sooner.
Risk of heart valve disease rises 20%
It was an accidental discovery. A professor and his Ph.D. student were testing celecoxib on heart valve cells.
Ironically they were trying to find out whether the active compound in Celebrex could be used to TREAT aortic valve stenosis.
But they were stunned when it appeared that the drug made the problem far WORSE.
To get to the bottom of the mystery a research team was formed to analyze over 8,600 cases of folks who had taken the drug.
After correcting for other risk factors, the link between Celebrex and aortic heart valve disease remained. In fact, folks who had taken the drug had a 20 percent HIGHER risk of valve calcifications.
Make the switch to SAFER pain relievers
So what about that EARLIER study?
Well, it turns out they only tracked heart-linked deaths and nonfatal heart attacks or strokes. They never even looked at valve diseases.
And that’s terrible news for seniors in particular. Because as we age our risk for stiffening valves rises too.
In fact, more than a quarter of folks over 65 have some calcifications already forming, whether they realize it or not.
Don’t let YOUR heart valves “turn to stone.”
If you’re taking Celebrex and are at a higher risk for valve disease, you might want to make a switch. Call your doctor to discuss safer options for arthritis pain relief.
And consider trying some natural pain-relievers such as Type 2 Cartilage, Boswellia, or Maritime Pine Bark Extract.
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