How Dangerous Are COX-2 Inhibitors?
We have just defined three mechanisms by which COX-2 inhibitor drugs may cause atherosclerosis, thrombosis, and the ensuing in-creased incidence of heart attack and stroke. Based on the number of published studies documenting these pathological mechanisms, it is surprising that there are not even greater numbers of adverse cardiovascular events. Some researchers fear that the clinical studies that were used to obtain approval of these drugs were not of sufficient duration to gather statistically significant data. Other researchers believe that the drug companies and FDA ignored early warnings of cardiovascular risks in this class of drug.
