Heartburn drugs can sometimes be recommended for asthma relief, but according to a new study, they may not be very effective.
Reuters reports that early studies suggested that heartburn drugs would help give asthma patients relief from their symptoms, but more studies revealed more mixed results According to the newest study conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, the improvement was so minimal that the patients did not feel its effects.
Dr. Walter Chan, who worked on the study, told Reuters, We found the effect is so small it's almost insignificant.
The researchers assessed the results of all the previous studies to determine whether or not heartburn medication was beneficial to asthma patients. They found that those who took heartburn drugs did have an increase in airway capacity as compared to those that took placebo. However, the increase was so small, the patients did not feel their symptoms were relieved.
The research was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
