Inhalers increase your risk of pneumonia and death from heart problems

Added 10.03.2009

Inhaler drugs are used by millions of people worldwide, mostly for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. But how safe are they? Well, according to recent scientific studies, two types of inhalers, corticosteroids and anticholinergics increase your risk of developing pneumonia and increase your risk of dying from heart-related problems.

Cortiscosteroids increase pneumonia risk by 70%

In a meta-analysis conducted earlier this year involving COPD patients, results showed that inhaled cortiscosteroids (anti-inflammatory inhalers) increased the risk of pneumonia and serious pnneumonia by 60% to 70% respectively. COPD is a progressive lung disease characterised by breathing difficulties, production of large amounts of mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Causes of COPD include smoking and long-term exposure to air pollution, chemical emissions and dust.

Inhalers increase risk of death from heart problems by 80%

In another study conducted last year, long-term (more than 30 days) anticholinergic inhaler use increased the risk of heart attack by 53% and the risk of cardiovascular death by 80%. Anticholinergic inhalers are bronchodilators that stop muscles around the bronchi from tightening. They are sometimes used by asthma sufferers but are most commonly prescribed to COPD patients.

COPD affects more than 80 million people worldwide and is responsible for more than three million deaths per year making it the fifth leading cause of death in high-income countries according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Imagine adding the risk of pneumonia - which kills approximately 1.6 million people a year - and cardiovascular disease (the number one killer in the world) to that!

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Dr. Bo Nielsen's comments:

These two scientific studies prove that one of the pharmaceutical drugs commonly prescribed to people with COPD increases their risk of dying by 80%. The other type of inhaler drug increases the risk of developing (life threatening) pneumonia by 70%. Anybody looking at today's world from the outside must think it totally absurd that it be considered legal to increase death by 80%. Had these treatments involved nutritional supplements they would have been illegal and the manufacturers and distributors would have been imprisoned. The only logical solution to prevent this from happening to you is to prevent developing these diseases. A simple side effect-free way of doing this is to stop smoking, live an active lifestyle, eat healthy and take daily supplements with vitamins and minerals and in this case, even grape seed extract.