Dallas, TX - A new study suggests that women taking daily amounts of non-aspirin painkillers - such as an extra-strength Tylenol - are more likely to develop high blood pressure than those who don't.

Acetaminophen, sold as Tylenol, has generally been considered relatively free of such risk while other popular over-the-counter painkillers have been linked before to high blood pressure,

Acetaminophen is the only painkiller in its class that is not a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID, which is a class of drug that the federal government requires to carry stricter warning labels because they have been linked to heart-related problems.

This class includes ibuprofen (sold as Advil and Motrin) and naproxen (sold as Aleve).

These painkillers felt a surge of use in the wake of problems with prescription drugs, such as Vioxx.

However, the new study shows that women who were taking Tylenol were about twice as likely to develop blood pressure problems and also that risk rose for women taking NSAIDS other than aspirin.

The study involved 5,123 women with normal blood pressure participating in the Nurses Health Study at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Doctors have recommended that, if you are taking these over-the-counter medications at high dosages on a regular basis, you are making sure that your doctor knows this and can check your blood pressure.

Data from the study produces findings that show that aspirin still remains the safest medicine for pain relief. It has has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems and was not included in the government's requirement for stricter labels for NSAIDs.

Aspirin does not raise risk because it has a different effect on blood vessels than NSAIDS and acetaminophen have.

The results even accounted for women who took pills for headaches, something that could itself be a result of very high blood pressure.