Vioxx Heart Attack:
Vioxx is a cox-2 inhibitor that is manufactured by Merck Pharmaceuticals, and was approved for general prescription in 1999 by the Food and Drugs Administration. However, just a few years later – after being hailed a wonder drug from the time that it was approved – the drug was withdrawn from the market by Merck after it was revealed that it could result in an increased risk of potentially deadly health problems including heart attacks. It was discovered that those taking Vioxx for an extended period of time risked an increased chance of having a heart attack, and it was this threat that resulted in the drug being pulled from the market last year.
By this time Vioxx had been widely prescribed for over four years, netting Merck billions of dollars in profits - and putting millions of people at increased risk of heart attack, expect they didn’t know it then. The drug had been prescribed for a range of adult pain management, from menstrual cramps and arthritis to post-surgery recovery and other types of pain. Vioxx had initially been hailed some sort of wonder drug, because it was able to provide pain relief without causing gastric problems, which other standard non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs did. However, nobody realized that the risks posed by Vioxx could be far worse than gastric problems.
There were several initial studies that highlighted the fact that Vioxx could actually make long-term users several times more likely to suffer a heart attack. The first of these studies was called VIGOR, and this was conducted by Merck itself in order to verify the effects of Vioxx on the gastric system. However, in addition to showing that Vioxx posed less risk on the gastric system than standard non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs this study also showed that Vioxx increased the chances of heart attack significantly in users.
Vioxx was pulled from the market in 2004 because of the risk of heart attacks and other deadly side effects such as strokes. There area a number of symptoms to look out for with a Vioxx heart attack, and these include:
- Chest pains
- Being short of breath
- Increased heart rate
- Fatigue
- Appetite loss
- Confusion
The increased risk of a heart attacks can reduce again once the patient stops taking the medication, and this is why the FDA also placed warnings for everyone using Vioxx to cease treatment and see their doctors for an alternative that carried lower or no risk of heart attacks.
There have been additional tests performed since this first study, all of which have confirmed the existence of the elevated risk of heart attacks in those taking Vioxx. The FDA also funded studies into the effects of Vioxx on the heart, and confirmed that those on Vioxx could be up to three times more likely to have a heart attack. The effects of Vioxx upon the heart were also tested against the effects of another cox-2 drug, celebrex, and the results indicated that Vioxx patients had a fifty percent higher chance of having a related heart attacks than those taking celebrex.
Following the revelation about Vioxx increasing the risk of heart attacks, many Vioxx users that had already suffered heart attacks realized that their medication could have been the cause of the problem. For some Vioxx patients, the news came too late – these are the people that had already died from Vioxx heart attacks and strokes. Many people have now filed lawsuits against Merck for personal injury and even for the wrongful death of loved ones.
Anyone that has suffered a Vioxx heart attack is advised to contact a specialist lawyer in the field for further advice about claiming compensation. Likewise, if you have lost a loved on through a Vioxx heart attack, you could claim for wrongful death, and should also contact a Vioxx lawyer as soon as possible.
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Headlines & Topics Relating to Vioxx:
A woman that filed a lawsuit against Merck for the wrongful death of her husband, who had been taking the pharmaceutical company’s cox-2 drug, Vioxx, has won her first victory.
Topic Added June 10th, 2005
The former company president of Merck & Co, the manufacturer of controversial cox-2 inhibitor Vioxx, has stated that the pharmaceutical giant is considering the return of the drug to the market.
Topic Added September 9th, 2005
In the second Vioxx trial to hit the courts, Merck have been hit with another setback, as the judge struck the testimony of the first defense witness.
Topic Added November 30th, 2005
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