Acid reflux drugs may cause heart disease, study suggests - Liberty Vindicator

Drugs that help millions of people cope with acid reflux may also cause cardiovascular disease. That’s the conclusion of a new report published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation by scientists from Houston Methodist Hospital, Stanford University and Imperial College London.

Researchers found the drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors or PPIs, can cause blood vessels to constrict. If taken regularly, PPIs could lead to hypertension and a weakened heart. Common PPIs are purchasable over the counter and include Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid.

“The surprising effect that PPIs may impair vascular health needs further investigation,” said John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s principal investigator. “Our work is consistent with previous reports that PPIs may increase the risk of a second heart attack in people who have been hospitalized with an acute coronary syndrome. Patients taking PPIs may wish to speak to their doctors about switching to another drug to protect their stomachs, if they are at risk for a heart attack,” said Cooke, who chairs the cardiovascular sciences department and directs the Center for Cardiovascular Regeneration at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center.

PPIs are activated by specialized cells in the stomach, and suppress the movement of protons into the intestine, lessening acid levels. But PPIs also reduce the ability of human blood vessels to generate nitric oxide.

“Nitric oxide generated by the lining of the vessel is known to relax, and to protect, arteries and veins,” said lead author Yohannes Ghebremariam, Ph.D., a molecular biologist with Houston Methodist. “We found that PPIs interfere with the ability of blood vessels to relax.”

The scientists used samples of human cells and mouse models for this study. In their paper, they call for a broad, large-scale study to determine whether PPIs are dangerous.

The Food and Drug Administration estimates about 1 in 14 Americans has used PPIs. In 2009, PPIs were the third-most taken type of drug in the United States, accounting for $13 billion in sales. PPIs are used to treat a wide range of disorders, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, infection by the ulcer-causing Helicobacter pylori, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, and Barrett’s esophagus.