Initially, researchers at Vanderbilt University thought Celebrex might improve the health of people with aortic stenosis, a dangerous narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve opening. So the researchers tested celecoxib, the active compound in Celebrex, on valve cells. As a Vanderbilt news release reports, it made the things worse. They found that strange, because an earlier four-year study determined that Celebrex was no more dangerous for the heart than older drugs in its same classification – commonly called NSAIDs.
The researchers then analyzed more than 8,600 relevant, anonymous patient records from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, looking for a link between Celebrex use and aortic valve disease. And they found one. After correcting for other risk factors, the numbers showed that patients who had taken Celebrex had a 20 percent increased prevalence of valve disease. Read more about it at Futurity.