Heart and stroke patients at risk of developing ulcers commonly take the anti-stroke drug Plavix instead of aspirin, as recommended by both the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

However, a study has found that patients who took Plavix had 12 times as many ulcers as those who took aspirin plus a heartburn pill. This, despite the fact that up to half of patients taking Plavix take it because their doctors think it is safer for the stomach than aspirin.

The year-long study involved 320 patients whose ulcers had healed. Half were given Plavix and half received aspirin plus Nexium, a heartburn pill.

Of the patients taking Plavix, 13, or 8.6 percent, had renewed ulcer bleeding during the study while only one, or 0.7 percent, of those taking aspirin plus Nexium did.

The finding suggests that guidelines for heart and stroke patients should be changed. The study's lead author said patients taking Plavix should think about switching to aspirin plus a heartburn pill not only because it is safer but also because it is cheaper -- whereas aspirin costs less than 10 cents per pill, Plavix costs between $3 and $4 per pill.

He noted that Nexium, which can also be expensive, was not the only choice for heartburn pills for patients and that Prilosec, Aciphex and Prevacid likely would work just as well.

Plavix has been the biggest seller by far for drug makers Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb, who co-market the drug. It's well on its way to becoming one of the three top-selling drugs in the world and brought in $2.8 billion in sales during the first half of 2004 alone.

Researchers called the finding "astonishing" and suggested physicians rethink their treatment strategies for heart disease prevention among patients at risk of ulcers.

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Here's another not-so-surprising case of a drug causing far more harm than anything good. In this case it's Plavix causing an "astonishing" 12 TIMES as many ulcers as aspirin plus a heartburn pill.

But the researcher's suggested pharmaceutical alternative -- aspirin plus a heartburn pill -- makes sense only if you are seeking the lesser of two evils. Some of you may recall a story I previously ran, aspirin is not a safe option, particularly for those who use it regularly as is the case with heart patients.

Here's what one Harvard researcher said about aspirin: "My guess is that if aspirin was launched in 2004, it would not be an over-the-counter drug."

And as for proton pump inhibitors like Prevacid, Prilosec and Nexium, they seriously impair your digestion by significantly reducing the amount of acid in your stomach. This impairs your ability to properly digest food. Reduction of acid in the stomach also diminishes your primary defense mechanism for food-borne infections, thereby increasing your risk of food poisoning.

Additionally, if you don't digest and absorb your food properly you will not only increase your risk of stomach atrophy but also nearly every other chronic degenerative disease.

A much safer, healthier treatment for protecting your body from strokes and other heart conditions would be to ensure your body has the proper omega-6:3 ratio. That means reducing the amount of omega-6 you eat (the kind that's in vegetables seed oils and nut oils) while increasing your omega-3, which is found in rich quantities in fish oil and cod liver oil.

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