The analysed drugs include Pfizer’s Celebrex, Merck’s Vioxx, Novartis’s Prexige, the experimental etoricoxib, ibuprofen, and diclofenac.
Naproxen and Ibuprofen (sold as Advil) were found to be the least and the most harmful respectively.
The analysis bolsters research linking painkillers to health hazards.
In the past, Vioxx from Merck was withdrawn in 2004 because of heart risks, and Novartis’ Prexige failed to win US approval in 2007 after Australian regulators voiced their concerns about the product’s potential to cause liver damage.
The current analysis found that both Vioxx and Prexige were linked to twice the risk of a heart attack compared with a placebo.