Ulcer Drug-Blood Thinner Cocktail Raises Heart Risks

Heart stent patients taking Bristol- Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA's anti-clotting drug Plavix increased their risk of heart attacks and strokes if they also took anti-ulcer medicines like AstraZeneca Plc's Nexium.

Doctors implant about 2 million stents worldwide annually and routinely prescribe them with blood thinners such as Plavix to avoid clots. The drugs, though, raise the risk of stomach bleeding, so Nexium or one of its rivals from a family of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors is also prescribed.

About a third of patients who received a heart stent and Plavix suffered complications within a year when they also took the ulcer medicines, according to a study reported today at an American Heart Association conference in New Orleans. The finding may change medical practice, the researchers said.