Inhalers 'could cause heart attack'

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Anticholinergic drugs contained in the inhalers could increase the risk of a heart attack, cardiovascular death or stroke by more than 50%, research showed.

The inhalers help people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, to breathe.

They open up the airways by relaxing muscles, which allows air to get in and out of the patient's lungs more easily.

The latest study looked at the inhalers ipratropium (Atrovent) and tiotropium (Spiriva). The meta-analysis examined at 17 medical trials involved a total of 14,783 patients who were using the inhalers for more than 30 days.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the authors said: "Inhaled anticholinergic use for more than 30 days significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (heart attack), or stroke in patients with COPD by approximately 58%."

The research was carried out by experts from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina and Dr Yoon Loke, from the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Dr Loke said more than two million prescriptions for anticholinergic inhalers were issued in England last year. He said long-term use could cause one in 40 users to die from a heart condition.

He added: "There are alternatives. If you know that your inhaler contains anticholinergics, my advice would be to ask your doctor to prescribe a different inhaler."

COPD caused 2,7000 deaths in the UK in 2004, and is projected to be the world's fifth biggest killer by 2020.