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Transcript of “Heart burn meds causing burning hearts”

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) do solve the heartburn problem in the moment, at a price………… an increased risk of having a heart attack.

You suffer from heart burn…….

Ouch !

The burning sensation that grips your chest is overwhelming. It doesn’t just happen after a particularly spicy meal, every meal ignites suffering. And your digestive tract inferno, interrupts your sleep.

Putting this fire out IS the priority !

Fortunately, there are several quick fix options…..

One of the most commonly used options are the PPIs i.e. proton pump inhibitors. They relieve the burn by stopping ACID PRODUCTION.

Completely.

The proton pump inhibitors are masters at disrupting the acid sprinkling system in the stomach.

No acid………….

NO BURN.

But no acid also means………poor DIGESTION, which makes you vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies, which over time can lead to new problems, such as weak bones.

And limited PROTECTION from “nasty” bacteria.

These risks are predictable. Acid is required for the stomach to function properly.   So blocking acid production, especially on a long term basis, does have consequences.

But, PPIs are doing a little more than just jamming up the proton pumps in the stomach.

They’re blocking nitric oxide production

Researchers have recently documented, that PPIs have the ability to jam up dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase, DDAH for short.

Now DDAH is part of the body’s clean up crew, it is tasked with removing asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) groups, from “things”. One of the “things” it removes this group from is THE ENZYME, that makes nitric oxide.

Since nitric oxide helps to keep the blood vessels open – this impacts heart function, not just on paper, but in patients.

This is what a team of researchers from Standford University discovered, when they dug deep into the medical records of people who were being treated for acid reflux problems (GERD).

Digging through medical records

The team asked computer bots to analyse the medical records inside the STRIDE system, which is a database that has recorded all the medical happenings, within Standford’s Medical Centre for the last 17 years.

The computer was able to “read” all the paperwork documenting the medical records of

• 8 million patients,
• experiencing 19 million encounters with the medical staff

Aren’t computers CLEVER ?

Sort of……….

 The Standford data

What the bot could do, was pick up which patients had received a diagnosis of GERD. It found a total of 93 149 cases in total…..

The computer selected GERD sufferers over the age of 18 years, to use in further analysis.

Next it determined which medication had been prescribed to treat the GERD, specifically whether the patient was prescribed a PPI or an antihistamine.

Whether the patient actually took the meds, how often, how much and for how long – was something the computer couldn’t determine, which limits the value of the data, a little.

Of the 70 477 grown ups with GERD

• 9 % were prescribed a PPI – these drugs are easy to spot, because they always end in –prazole e.g. ome-prazole. Brand names include Nexium, Prilosec, and Prev.
• 2 % were prescribed an antihistamine – these drugs are can be spotted by looking for drugs ending in – tidine e.g. cimetidine. Brand names include Zantac and Tagamet.

It then tracked these two groups of people over time………… watching for a diagnosis of a heart attack, to appear in their medical record.

It found 22 411 heart attacks happened.

Ouch !

Digging deeper

The striking thing – the incidence of heart attack between the two groups of patients was different. Patients prescribed a PPI, had more heart attacks than expected, suggesting PPIs were increasing heart attack risk.

Now you might be thinking – well, maybe these folks were heart attacks waiting to happen ? On top of their heartburn meds, they were taking drugs to treat high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

Well, some of them were.

But, that is “normal” today – nothing in the data, suggested these people were high risk to begin with. They seemed to be regular Joe’s

So, just like you, odds are, many of them were doing what they can to mitigate their risk of heart disease, through diet and exercise …..

Of course, the irony of this study………….

Heartburn meds are burning hearts

The folks taking a PPI, were inadvertently ramping up their risk of suffering a heart attack, through using the heartburn medication.

Now all drugs come with benefits and risks.

Which means when you take a medicine, you need to weigh up the pros and cons.

A heart attack is a big negative

In my books.

PPIs address the heartburn problem in the moment, they don’t solve it……………. This “fix” comes at a price, an increased risk of having a heart attack. Now, a heart attack is a rather large price to pay, for a little relief from acid indigestion.

To bigger a price ?

Time for plan A – deal with the cause of your indigestion. If you need some help, digging up why you’re battling with acid reflux, sign up for a body chemistry audit.

Alternatively, go for plan B.   When you opt to take heartburn meds, make sure it’s for a short period of time, not an on going basis. Consider using an antihistamine type of drug, instead of a PPI. And if you’re taking a PPI, keep tabs on your blood pressure.

Further reading

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