Can heart patients take diclofenac?
Can heart patients take diclofenac?
In line with COX-2 inhibitors, diclofenac is now contraindicated in people with ischaemic heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, cerebrovascular disease, and established congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association classification II-IV).
Is diclofenac hard on your heart?
Diclofenac topical can increase your risk of fatal heart attack or stroke, even if you don’t have any risk factors. Do not use this medicine just before or after heart bypass surgery (coronary artery bypass graft, or CABG). Diclofenac topical may also cause stomach or intestinal bleeding, which can be fatal.
How long does diclofenac 50 mg stay in your system?
When you stop taking diclofenac tablets or capsules, or stop using the suppositories, the effects will wear off after about 15 hours.
Is there a link between diclofenac and heart attack?
Following reports that one of the most widely used painkillers, the anti-inflammatory diclofenac (also known as Difene and Diclac), is linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the State’s medicines regulator this week advised people with heart problems to avoid using it.
When do the real problems start with difene?
The real problems start for people when they still have pain after an injury and go back to their GP and stay on their prescription, which continues for several weeks. “This is the cohort who get upset by the medication.
What happens if you self prescribe difene for pain?
Difficulties arise when patients self-prescribe. It is not uncommon to have some unused Difene lying in the cupboard from a previous prescription or to be offered some by a friend or relative to treat injuries and pain. Dr Hegarty has come across many pain patients who self-prescribe in this way.
Is it safe to take diclofenac in Ireland?
Notwithstanding high diclofenac prescription rates in Ireland, the drug was not the first NSAID usually prescribed by GPs, Waterford-based GP Dr Austin Byrne said. All NSAIDs carried risk of adverse gastric, kidney and cardiac side effects, he said.