In a study of 5,000 people who’d had heart attacks and 20,000 who hadn’t, the was no evident increase of heart attack risk for people who took moderate amounts of Advil (ibuprofen), Aleve (naproxen), or Cataflam or Voltaren (diclofenac) for a year or more.
This article looked like good news at first glance, but so many people with headache who use OTC NSAIDs like Advil and Aleve exceed the limits of “moderate amounts” that I’m not sure the results apply.
The morals of the story? Just because a drug is sold OTC, it isn’t harmless. If you take lots of OTC painkillers, you likely either have undiagnosed migraine or tension-type headache or rebound headaches from taking too many meds.