Germany’s drug regulator on Monday told patients with cardiovascular risks to stop using Pfizer’s arthritis drug Celebrex after new data emerged linking it to an elevated risk of heart attacks.

The drug regulator said in a statement it was not “justifiable” to treat patients with a history of heart attack and stroke with Celebrex.

The regulator urged the use of alternative drugs, or a reduction in dose if a patient cannot be treated without Celebrex.

Pfizer last week said Celebrex more than doubled the risk of heart attack in a large cancer-prevention trial, a setback that comes just weeks after Merck & Co. recalled its similar Vioxx drug due to heart safety risks.

Pfizer said doctors should be made aware of the health risks in prescribing Celebrex to their patients, but the company does not plan to recall its popular arthritis drug.

Celebrex is one of Pfizer’s biggest products, with 2003 sales of $1.9 billion.