Regular use of painkillers such as aspirin, ibuprofen and paracetamol is linked to greater risk of stroke and heart attack from higher blood pressure, research published today shows.

A wide-ranging US study has found that men who took paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen six or seven days a week over a two-year period were a third more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure than men who did not use them.

Researchers, led by Dr John Forman of the Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston, studied 16,000 men whose records they checked over a four-year period. Those who took 15 or more pills per week were 48% more likely to have high blood pressure.

The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, reiterate a 2002 study which found that commonly-used painkillers raise blood pressure in women.
More than five million Britons, including those suffering back pain, migraine or osteroarthritis take painkillers.

The US research found that those who took paracetamol six or seven days a week were 34% more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure, and being overweight reduced this risk. Those who took aspirin as regularly were 26% more likely to have high blood pressure. For painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen, the risk increased by 38%. Being overweight increased this risk.

Dr Elliott Antman, from the American Heart Association: said: "We advise physicians to start with nonpharmacologic treatments such as physical therapy and exercise, weight loss to reduce stress on joints, and heat or cold therapy," he said.

Dr Gary Curhan, who also worked on the study, said men who were advised by a doctor to take an aspirin a day to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke should continue to take them. "The benefit outweighs the risk," he said.