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Ipratropium Increases Risk of Cardiovascular-Related Deaths in Patients With COPD CHICAGO -- September 16, 2008 -- Ipratropium (Atrovent, Combivent) appears to increase the risk of cardiovascular-related deaths in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study in the September 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. "The safety of drugs for COPD patients has flown under the radar," said lead author Todd Lee, Institute for HealthCare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois "We decided to look into the safety of respiratory medications for COPD patients because of some concerns that had been raised in asthma drugs. We were curious as to whether there were safety problems with these medications in patients with COPD." The researchers looked at the cause of death of 145,000 veterans with newly diagnosed COPD from 1999 to 2003. They found that veterans with recently diagnosed COPD using ipratropium were 34% more likely to die of a heart attack or of arrhythmia compared with patients with COPD using only albuterol or patients not using any treatment. "This medication may be having some systemic cardiovascular effect that is increasing the risk of death in COPD patients," Lee said. Lee noted that his study is observational and the results indicate the need for researchers to take a closer look at this medication, which has been considered safe for many years. Todd said patients and providers should be aware of the potential risk and "when they make treatment decisions they need to weigh these potential risks against other medications that are available for COPD," he said. SOURCE: Northwestern University E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version