In an analysis that could affect millions of people who take over-the-counter pills for chronic pain, naproxin sodium -- Aleve is the major brand name --showed the least risk to patients' hearts, according to the British medical journal Lancet.
Thirty statisticians and medical professionals, including at least one from Florida, analyzed hundreds of studies to come to their surprising conclusion, asThe Palm Beach Post reports.
They found Aleve was less likely to cause heart attacks and strokes than prescription doses of either ibuprofen, sold as Motrin or Advil, or diclofenac, sold as Voltaren.
Another finding of importance: Ibuprofen, which many patients began taking after Bextra and other Cox02 drugs were taken off the market, actually carries a greater heart risk than the ones that were removed, Lancet reported.