Recently there has been controversy about the safety of ARB medications. These are medicines used commonly for high blood pressure and for heart failure. Going by the common names Cozaar, Avapro, Diovan, Benicar, Tevetan….they were implicated a year ago as a causing an increased risk of cancer in patients taking for the long term.
A recently published Lancet article shows that these medications do not appear to have any cancer-causing effects, or at least, if this study doesn’t put the entire issue to rest, it is very reassuring.
The FDA is reviewing the ARB class of medication in ongoing studies and will provide a final report in about a year. In the meantime, one can feel safe on these medications and not worry about taking them. Good news.