Salt content of medicines under scrutiny

Painkillers that dissolve in water could pose a health risk because they are too high in salt, says research published in the British Medical Journal.

Scientists set out to investigate if people who take drugs that contain salt have a higher risk of cardiovascular events compared with those who take non-sodium formulations of the same drugs.

The team looked at data from 1.2 million people in the UK and tracked them for seven years. Within that time, 61 072 people had a cardiovascular event.

Exposure to fizzy, dissolvable medicines that contained salt was associated with significantly increased odds of heart attack or stroke compared with standard formulations of the same drugs.

“Sodium-containing formulations should be prescribed with caution only if the perceived benefits outweigh these risks,” says Prof Thomas MacDonald, who was involved in the work.

To read the original research visit http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6954.