Cardiovascular Safety Signals of Oral Versus Topical Minoxidil in FAERS: A Disproportionality Analysis (Analytic Cohort 2012–2025)

The study analyzed cardiovascular safety signals of oral versus topical minoxidil using FAERS data from 2012 to 2025, including 559 oral and 56,947 topical reports. Oral minoxidil showed significantly higher reporting odds ratios (RORs) for serious cardiovascular events such as pericardial effusion, hypertensive crisis, and cardiac tamponade. The study found that 8.23% of oral minoxidil cases resulted in death, compared to 0.03% for topical minoxidil, with hospitalization rates also higher for oral minoxidil (37.03% vs. 0.34%). These findings suggest a higher risk of serious cardiovascular events with oral minoxidil, but further research is needed due to limitations like missing data and confounding factors.