Could Common Heartburn Drugs Up Stroke Risk?

May Widespread Heartburn Medication Up Stroke Threat?

Researchers involved about excessive doses of meds like Nexium and Prilosec

WebMD Information from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Nov. 15, 2016 (HealthDay Information) -- A preferred class of heartburn medicines -- together with Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec and Protonix -- could improve your threat of stroke, a brand new examine suggests.

Generally known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), these medication elevated folks's general stroke threat by 21 p.c, mentioned examine lead creator Dr. Thomas Sehested.

Nevertheless, the danger seems to be pushed by individuals who take excessive doses, added Sehested, analysis director on the Danish Coronary heart Basis in Copenhagen.

"Folks handled with a low dose of PPIs didn't have a excessive threat of stroke," he mentioned. "These handled with the very best doses of PPIs had the very best threat of stroke."

The extent of threat additionally is determined by the particular PPI taken.

On the highest dose, stroke threat ranged from 30 p.c for lansoprazole (Prevacid) to 94 p.c for pantoprazole (Protonix), the researchers mentioned.

Takeda Pharmaceutical, the maker of prescription-only Protonix, didn't reply to a request for remark.

PPIs particularly affected threat of the most typical kind of stroke, ischemic stroke, which happens when a clot blocks blood circulate to the mind.

Proton pump inhibitors deal with heartburn by blocking acid-producing cells within the lining of the abdomen.

Prior research have related PPI use with coronary heart illness, coronary heart assaults and dementia, Sehested mentioned.

Nevertheless, due to its design, the brand new examine cannot set up a direct cause-and-effect relationship between these heartburn medication and elevated stroke threat. The analysis solely reveals an affiliation.

For this examine, researchers analyzed the data of practically 245,000 Danish sufferers, common age 57. All had undergone an endoscopy, a process used to determine the causes of abdomen ache and indigestion.

Throughout about six years of follow-up, practically 9,500 sufferers had their first ischemic stroke.

Researchers checked to see if the stroke occurred whereas sufferers had been taking any of those PPIs: omeprazole (Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), Prevacid or Protonix. The researchers additionally requested about one other class of antacids generally known as H2 blockers, which embrace Pepcid and Zantac.

The analysis group discovered elevated threat from PPIs, however none from H2 blockers. The connection held even after researchers adjusted for different threat elements for stroke and coronary heart illness, Sehested mentioned.