Channel Blocker Drugs May Double Breast Cancer Risk for Some Women
From Times staff and wire reports
Women 65 and older who take calcium channel blockers--a widely used type of drug for high blood pressure and heart disease--are about twice as likely to develop breast cancer, researchers from the University of Washington reported in Wednesday’s edition of the journal Cancer. But the risk of uncontrolled high blood pressure may outweigh any possible added risk of breast cancer, the National Institutes of Health said.
Women should not stop taking the drugs, at least not without consulting their doctors, according to the health agency. Calcium channel blockers are sold under such names as Adalat, Cardizem, Procardia, diltiazem, nifedipine and verapamil.
