Loading...
Among the comorbidities associated with heart failure (HF) is arthritis, which is widely treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, NSAID use in HF patients has been discouraged because of potential drug-related increases in systemic vascular resistance, reduced renal perfusion, and worsening of HF. Some have hypothesized that HF patients would fare better with selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors (celecoxib, rofecoxib) than with nonselective NSAIDs.
To test this hypothesis, researchers retrospectively analyzed population-based administrative data for initially NSAID-naïve elderly patients (minimum age, 65) in Ontario. During a 1-year period, about 45,000 patients started using nonselective NSAIDs, celecoxib,…