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Are You At Medical Risk?
by Susan T. RobertsIn response to a number of inquiries from our clients, Peacock Keller is currently reviewing claims related to the use of Vioxx®, Bextra®, and Celebrex®. Recent questions have been raised about the safety of these three widely used drugs. They were originally approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and menstrual and post-operative pain. Safety concerns center around increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in patients taking such non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's) including those known as COX-2 selective agents. Adverse reactions to drug treatments are a significant cause of death and injury in the United States. As many as 200,000 Americans die from adverse reactions and side effects to prescription drugs. VIOXX® The drug company Merck announced on September 30, 2004 a worldwide withdrawal of Vioxx, its anti-inflammatory drug, following information that people taking Vioxx are twice as likely to have heart attacks and strokes as people who take older anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Naproxen. In a recent report a researcher concluded that the drug was responsible for between 88,000 and 140,000 excess cases of serious coronary heart disease. BEXTRA® On November 11, 2004, University of Pennsylvania researchers told the American Heart Association that a recent clinical trial revealed that patients taking Bextra had more than twice the incidence of heart attack and stroke than nonusers. University of Pennsylvania pharmacologist Dr. Garret FitzGerald claims "The magnitude of [cardiac problems] with Bextra is even higher than what we saw in Vioxx." Bextra's risk appeared to pose a slightly higher risk than Vioxx for heart attack and stroke. CELEBREX® Recently, patients in a cancer study were taking 400 milligrams to 800 milligrams of Celebrex. Compared with placebo users, the risk of heart trouble was 2.5 times greater for patients taking 200 mg of Celebrex twice daily and 3.4 times greater for those who took 400 mg twice daily. Other studies of Celebrex have showed an increased risk of potentially fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhage, heart attacks, kidney complications and possible drug interaction side effects. If you or any member of your family have experienced a heart attack, stroke, unexpected death or other serious adverse health effects while taking any of these three prescription drugs, call our office for a consultation without charge. |
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