Pulse frequency

Question

Dear expert team,
It strikes to my son, 30 years old, end-stage Cystic Fibrosis, long-term oxygen therapy, that about 1-2 hours after the intake of Ibuprofen he does not only feel better in general, but also his increased pulse freuquency at rest of 120-130 beats per minute does come down significantly about 10 beats. Is there any explanation for that effect of Ibuprofen?
Yours sincerely,

Answer

Hello,
the mentioned drug contains as active agent Ibuprofen, an approved agent for lowering fever, which belongs to the non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. I was not able to find a "side effect" like that described by you in the list of frequent to the very rare side effects (definitions: very frequent (more than 1 out of 10 treated persons; frequent (more than 1 out of 100 treated persons but less than 1 out of 10 treated persons); occassionally (more than 1 out of 1000 treated persons but less than 1 out of 100 treated persons); rare (more than 1 out of 10.000 treated persons but less than 1 out of 1000 treated persons); very rare (less than 1 out of 10.000 treated persons, including single cases).
That does however not exclude, that such an effect - for some reason - occurs. I do not have a simple explanation for this either. Together with the doctors in charge one has to decide, if the drug can be given in spite off this reaction or if one has to declare this suspicion as a "side effect" (but the necessary steps that have to be taken for this in Austria are not familiar to me).
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Dr. TOF Wagner

20.11.2008