A new research has been carry out, which say;s Indigestion pills taken daily by millions can raise the risk of having a heart attack.
The major study which showed that those who take proton pump inhibitor, or PPI, drugs are around 20 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack than others. Even otherwise healthy, middle-aged people are at risk.
The US analysis of the records of three million patients doesn’t prove the highly popular pills are at fault but the study’s authors say the link is ‘very worrisome’.
Lead researcher Dr Nicholas Leeper, a heart surgeon, said: ‘These drugs may not be as safe as we think.
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Heart disease is by far the leading cause of death in the western world and PPIs are so commonly prescribed.
‘This is potentially a big deal from a public health perspective.’
PPIs including omeprazole and lansoprazole are some of the most popular drugs in the world.
More than five million prescriptions are written out each year in England alone.
Many more Britons buy them over the counter in the pharmacy, where brand names include Zanprol and Pantoloc Control.
Any long-term use is meant to be subject to regular review and over-the-counter pills are meant to be limited to two weeks.
However, some people find PPIs so helpful that they take them for years.
The tablets cut the amount of acid produced by the stomach and are used to treat acid reflux, in which stomach acid travels up the food pipe, causing a burning sensation in the chest.
They are also prescribed to people with stomach ulcers.
They have long been considered harmless – but recent studies have produced hints they may damage the heart.
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