Daily Use of Antacids May Up the Risk of Heart Attack

People using over the counter antacids pills to treat heartburn or acidity on a daily basis are at an increased risk of getting a heart attack.

According to a new study published in the Public Library of Science Journal, the use of antacid medications could increase the risk of heart attack by 16-21 percent.

Scientists came to this conclusion after analysing the medical files of 2.9 million patients in two separate databases.

 "People who take medication to suppress stomach acid are at greater risk of developing myocardial infarction, commonly known as heart attack," said the lead researcher, Nigam H. Shah from Stanford University, California.

"By looking at data from people who were given these drugs primarily for acid reflux and had no prior history of heart disease, our data-mining pipeline signals an association with a higher rate of heart attacks."

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) like Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid are widely prescribed medications and used to treat a number of medical conditions which include gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

"Our results demonstrate that PPIs appear to be associated with elevated risk of heart attack in the general population," he added.

Meanwhile the team also worked with researchers from the Houston Methodist Hospital and they found H2 blockers (another type of antacid medication) did not show the same kind of links.

Some brand examples of H2 blockers are Tagamet and Zantac.

"Our earlier work identified that the PPIs can adversely affect the endothelium, the Teflon-like lining of the blood vessels," said John Cooke, a senior study author.

These observations led researchers to come to the conclusion that consistent use of PPI's increase risk of getting a heart attack.

"Our report raises concerns that these drugs -- which are available over the counter and are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world -- may not be as safe as we previously assumed," the authors said.