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Agita Over Heartburn Study

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A study from Stanford University raises concerns that some heartburn drugs, when used for long periods of time, can increase your risk of a heart attack.

Dr. Chris Cove is a Cardiologist at URMC. He suggests you not change your antacid based on this report. But he is impressed by one aspect of the research.

"This is a unique study in that this is really the first study that's really used the use of electronic medical records in the United States, and reviewed electronic medical records to try to piece together this association. I think that's to me one of the most interesting things."

The research into proton pump inhibitors used electronic medical records from nearly 300-thousand adults across the country.

Dr. Cove believes it will serve to focus the next study.

"Possible interactions between drugs, between certain diseases...Now you can design a study that's a little bit more focused and with a little bit more purpose than you would if you started out without knowing this association."

Proton pump inhibitors – or PPI's - such as Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid are currently the most popular type of acid reflux medicine.

Dr. Cove points out that the research did not find an association with older antacids.

Credit URMC
URMC Dr. Christopher Cove

"They also compared them against the older antacid drugs, like the H2Blockers like Zantac, and with Zantac they did not see the association."

So, what’s the doctor’s advice?

"I would say let's wait. Let's see what comes out of these randomized trials. I would also caution that this is a very slight association, so it's not a huge increased risk. I would also caution patients these are over the counter drugs, and over the counter drugs don't mean that they are necessarily safe. So, if you're ever going to use one of these drugs, contact your physician."