Vioxx more dangerous drug than Celebrex

Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent at Reuters who interviewed Dr. Stephen Kimmel of the University of Pennsylvania after publication of study on Celebrex is reporting that the drug is less likely to cause a heart attack than Vioxx, despite both drugs being in the same category, commonly referred to as Cox-2 inhibitors.

Pfizer has argued all along that Celebrex was safer than Vioxx and that has allowed it to gain most of the market share (along with Bextra) lost by Merck after the recall of Vioxx. But Dr. Kimmel does not seem to think that Celebrex is any safer than Vioxx. "The main finding is that people who use Vioxx have almost a three-fold higher risk of non-fatal heart attacks as people who use Celebrex," Kimmel said, adding he presumed the statistics for fatal heart attacks would be similar.

Harvard Medical School researchers -- Dr. Axel Finckh, a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dr. Mark Aronson of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center -- said doctors should avoid prescribing COX-2 inhibitors to patients who have a risk of heart disease.

Associated Press is quoting Dr. Garret FitzGerald, a Penn cardiologist and pharmacologist, who questioned whether it proved anything new. He is among a number of doctors concerned that all Cox-2 inhibitors, which block the enzyme that causes the pain and swelling of arthritis, may raise the risk of heart problems.

So what does it mean if you have taken Vioxx and your doctor has put you on Celebrex? Nothing much. As experts point out, more research is needed to prove if there is a truly safe drug for arthritis patients. The main message here is that if you have a heart condition along with arthritis pain, you need to have a serious discussion with your doctor to decide if you should be taking a Cox-2 inhibitor drug.

Related articles: Vioxx alternatives may not be totally safe and Non Cox-2 alternatives to Vioxx for pain relief