Doctors have warned that people should try to avoid taking dissolving, fizzy paracetamol that contains salt, following findings from a large study that shows a link with a significantly increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, and death.
The study of nearly 300,000 patients registered with UK general practitioners is published in the European Heart Journal.
For each half a gram of paracetamol, or acetaminophen, that comes in a dissolvable tablet, you may also swallow around 0.4 grams of sodium, one of the main components of salt. Too much salt in the diet is known to cause health problems and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death among patients with high blood pressure.
Professor Chao Zeng from Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China found that the risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart failure for patients with high blood pressure, taking sodium-containing paracetamol for one year was 5.6%, whereas, it was 4.6% for those who take non-sodium-containing paracetamol.
Prof. Zeng said: “We also found that the risk of cardiovascular disease and death increased as the duration of sodium-containing paracetamol intake increased.
Prof. Zeng further added
“Given that the pain relief effect of non-sodium-containing paracetamol is similar to that of sodium-containing paracetamol, clinicians may prescribe non-sodium-containing paracetamol to their patients to minimize the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. People should pay attention not only to salt intake in their food but also not overlook hidden salt intake from the medication in their cabinet,”.
virologia
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