COPD Medicines: Risky or Safe?
Sept. 23, 2008 -- Two commonly used treatments for the lung disease known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) boost the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes, according to a new analysis. But the drugs' marketers sharply disagree.
The medicines under scrutiny are called inhaled anticholinergics, which work by relaxing the muscles around constricted airways and relieving symptoms such as shortness of breath.
The use of two commonly prescribed anticholinergics, Spiriva and Atrovent, for more than a month boosted the risk of heart attack, stroke, or dying of cardiovascular problems by 58%, says Sonal Singh, MD, MPH, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and lead author of the study, which appears in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Singh and colleagues pooled the results of 17 randomized trials that included nearly 15,000 patients who took the anticholinergics or a control treatment. "Every study points in the same direction," he tells WebMD.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical industry spokespeople issued a statement strongly disagreeing with the conclusions of the study, issuing their own new analysis that they say confirms the safety of Spiriva.
Take WebMD's COPD Health Check
The medicines under scrutiny are called inhaled anticholinergics, which work by relaxing the muscles around constricted airways and relieving symptoms such as shortness of breath.
The use of two commonly prescribed anticholinergics, Spiriva and Atrovent, for more than a month boosted the risk of heart attack, stroke, or dying of cardiovascular problems by 58%, says Sonal Singh, MD, MPH, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and lead author of the study, which appears in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Singh and colleagues pooled the results of 17 randomized trials that included nearly 15,000 patients who took the anticholinergics or a control treatment. "Every study points in the same direction," he tells WebMD.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical industry spokespeople issued a statement strongly disagreeing with the conclusions of the study, issuing their own new analysis that they say confirms the safety of Spiriva.
Take WebMD's COPD Health Check
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