According to a new study, aspirin, one of the most widely used pain relievers in the world, has been associated to an increased risk of heart failure.

According to European Society of Cardiology experts, aspirin consumption is connected with a 26% increased risk of heart failure in persons who have at least one predisposing factor or disease. High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease were all considered risk factors in the research.

The researchers did warn, however, that the impact of aspirin on heart failure was debatable, and that the study attempted to assess the relationship between the two in persons with and without heart disease.

“This is the first research to show that among those who had at least one risk factor for heart failure, those who used aspirin were more likely to acquire the illness than those who didn’t,” study author Dr. Blerim Mujaj of Germany’s University of Freiburg said in a statement.

“While the findings need to be confirmed, they do suggest that the potential relationship between aspirin and heart failure has to be investigated.”

The study comprised little over 30,000 adults at risk of developing heart failure, all of whom were recruited from Western Europe and the United States. At the start of the study, all participants were above the age of 40 and had no history of heart failure.

The participants in the study were 67 years old on average, with women accounting for 34% of the total.

At the start of the study, 7,698 people (25 percent) were using aspirin. The researchers revealed that 1,330 patients experienced heart failure throughout the follow-up period.

After controlling for gender, age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, blood pressure, heart rate, blood cholesterol, creatinine, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and treatment with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, beta-blockers, and lipid-lowering drugs, the researchers assessed the association between aspirin use and incident heart failure.

Taking aspirin was shown to be connected with a 26% increased chance of a new heart failure diagnosis.

“This was the first big research to look at the link between aspirin usage and incident heart failure in people with and without cardiac disease, as well as at least one risk factor.” Aspirin is widely used; in our study, one out of every four patients was using the medicine. “Aspirin usage was related with incident heart failure in this cohort, regardless of other risk variables,” Dr. Mujaj added.

“To confirm these findings, large global randomized studies in people at risk of heart failure are required.” Until then, our findings suggest that aspirin should be used with caution in those who have heart failure or who have risk factors for the illness.”