The anti-inflammatory drugs could help blood vessel flexibility and reduce inflammation there.

This means they could be used as a treatment for atherosclerosis, the narrowing and hardening of arteries.

They are usually used to lower inflammation in arthritic joints.

The drugs, known as Cox-2 inhibitors are a new form nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), linked with a lower incidence of stomach irritation than others, such as aspirin and ibuprofen.

Findings from the small Swiss study were "fast-tracked" for website publication because editors of Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, believed they were so important.

Anti-inflammatory effect

Fourteen men aged 46 to 77 who had severe heart disease were studied.

They had all been given standard treatment including aspirin to thin the blood and lipid-lowering statins.

They were then given 200 milligrams of a Cox-2 inhibitor (celecoxib) or a dummy version for two weeks.

The groups then swapped treatments.

The research could go some way in helping us to understand more about how inflammation can affect artery lining and about another possible role for these drugs Belinda Linden, British Heart Foundation

Researchers looked at blood vessels in the arm to assess how the endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels which controls how they expand and contract, functioned.

The endothelium works less effectively if it is coated with fatty deposits.

When patients were taking the Cox-2 inhibitors, this endothelium-dependent vasodilatation improved by 3.3%, compared to 2% for those on the dummy version.

Researchers also measured levels of a protein which signifies inflammation and oxidised low-density lipoprotein ('bad' cholesterol), which were both lower for those taking the Cox-2 inhibitor.

Dr Frank Ruschitzka, of the department of cardiology at University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, who led the study, said: "Increasing evidence indicates that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease.

"Thus, anti-inflammatory agents used to treat arthritis, such as COX-2 inhibitors, may not only reduce inflammation in the joints, but could possibly have that same anti-inflammatory benefit in the vessel wall.

"This study is the first to show that relationship."

'Gastric problems'

The researchers added: "The results of our study suggest that Cox-2 inhibition with celecoxib has potential as an add-on therapy to standard treatment."

But they said further, larger scale studies were needed.

Belinda Linden, head of medical information at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Celecoxib is a drug that has been increasingly used for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

"Studies have found this drug to have anti-inflammatory properties without the gastric problems that are associated with other drugs for arthritis.

"This study suggests that there may also be benefit for people in reducing the inflammation involved in cardiovascular disease, and improving the elasticity of the vessel wall.

"The research could go some way in helping us to understand more about how inflammation can affect artery lining and about another possible role for these drugs."

But she added: "This is a very small study and the researchers admit themselves that more large-scale controlled studies are needed to further clarify the findings."

The research has been published online by Circulation.