Interestingly, I just had minor surgery a few days back and they gave me Vioxx as a general anti-inflammatory for a week to keep the swelling down. I only realized this morning I was even on it - I talked to the doc (who had been prescribing this one b/c it is the least likely to cuz digestive problems and vomiting would cause me extreme pain right now, if not rupture the incision) who said this is not a new issue. He feels that as long as people are aware of the risk, it should be up to them to decide whether the potential heart problems are worse than the sometimes rather severe side effects of the alternative drugs (or the arthritis in the first place).
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