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Inhalers ups heart risk: study

The use of a once-a-day inhaler for chronic bronchitis or emphysema for longer than one month increases the risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death by 58%, a new study says.

An analysis of 17 clinical trials involving 4 783 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) revealed the adverse cardiovascular outcomes for those using inhaled anticholinergics as opposed to a placebo or some other kind of treatment.

"A regulatory reassessment of the cardiovascular safety concerns with this class of inhalers is urgently needed," said study co-author Sonal Singh of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina.

Five studies, same result
The risk of death was most salient in five clinical trials of more than six months duration, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Anticholinergics belong to a class of drugs that dilate respiratory pathways to ease breathing and reduce bronchospasm, a sudden tightening of the bronchial tubes.

The two most commonly prescribed anticholinergics are tiotropium bromide, marketed as Spiriva and ipratropium bromide or Atrovent.

"Patients with COPD who use these inhalers are at a high risk of excess serious cardiovascular events due to their use," said Singh, a co-author of the study with Yoon Lake of Britain's University of East Anglia.

"In absolute terms, if these inhalers are used for one year, nearly one in 40 patients using these inhalers may develop cardiac death related to the drug, and nearly one in 174 patients may develop a heart attack associated with these inhalers."

More than eight million patients have used it since it was approved in 2002.

Manufacturers dispute findings
The drug manufacturers, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim fiercely contested the findings, arguing the research was flawed and furnishing data of their own showing Spiriva was safe.

In a statement the companies said Boehringer Ingelheim had conducted 30 rigorously controlled clinical trials demonstrating "there is no increased risk of death (all-cause) or death due to cardiovascular events in patients treated with Spiriva. – (Sapa)

Read more:
COPD Centre
Heart Centre

September 2008

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