Celecoxib Linked to Increased Cardiovascular Risk

The cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex) more than doubled the risk of cardiovascular events in subjects enrolled in the Adenoma Prevention with Celecoxib (APC) study, Celebrex maker Pfizer Inc said today. The large randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study was designed to investigate whether celecoxib could prevent colon cancer in people who had previously had colon polyps. Subjects who took celecoxib had 2.5 times as many fatal and nonfatal heart attacks as those who did not take the drug.