You make some very good points, but you’re missing the bigger picture. Ibuprofen was one of the first NSAIDs on the market and became widely used without proper risk asessment. Too little research has been done to look at the cardiovascular risk, but they all show an increased risk. Ibuprofen is not necessarily safer than other NSAIDs. So be careful. If ibuprofen was new today, it would probably not be admitted to the market, because it would not be better than existing alternatives. In fact, some COX-2 inhibitors have a better risk profile, but they are hardly prescribed, because their risks are better quantified. They had to be, because they are newer and the rules are stricter now. It’s weird that we let this happen.