Concomitant Use of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Antithrombotic Agents After Myocardial Infarction

Essentially all patients who survive myocardial infarction (MI) receive one or more antithrombotic agents for ≥1 year, and many MI patients receive oral anticoagulants. Most nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are associated with excess risk for both bleeding and adverse cardiovascular events, and their use is discouraged in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

In this retrospective analysis of a Danish data registry, researchers identified 88,662 patients (mean age, 68) who were discharged after first MIs. About one third of these patients received NSAIDs at some point during follow-up. In Denmark, prescriptions are required for all NSAIDs except low-dose ibuprofen. Nearly all post-MI patients received some combination of a…