Another report on triptan safety

October 23, 2023

A presentation by Jing Jie Yu, Joshua E. Levine, and others from U. of Florida at the last meeting of the International Headache Society described their analysis of the potential risks of triptans.

Triptans are drugs that were first approved in 1992 and include sumatriptan (Imitrex, Imigran), naratriptan (Amerge, Naramig), rizatriptan (Maxalt), zolmitriptan (Zomig), eletriptan (Relpax), almotriptan (Axert), and frovatriptan (Frova). Because triptans have the potential to constrict blood vessels they are contraindicated in patients who have coronary artery disease (CAD) or cerebrovascular disease (CVD).

The study was entitled, Association between Triptan Use and Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality among Patients with Migraine: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of several studies showed that triptan use was not associated with increased risk of stroke, TIA, or all-cause death risk but with a decreased CAD risk in migraine patients.

A report presented in 2022 showed not only that triptans are safe in people without CVD, but are relatively safe even in those who have CVD. The risk of major adverse cardiovascular events with triptans was 1% while with NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, it was 3.8%.

Written by

Alexander Mauskop, MD

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Another report on triptan safety

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