stroke Tagged Articles

Study of heart drug Multaq canceled due to two-fold risk of death

Posted: July 31, 2011 Product Liability

A clinical trial evaluating the effects of antiarrhythemic drug Multaq (Dronedarone) in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation was stopped prematurely after data showed a two-fold increase in death, as well as two-fold increases in stroke and hospitalization for heart failure

FDA considers risks, benefit of experimental heart valve device

Posted: July 25, 2011 Product Liability

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel is reviewing data on an experimental heart valve device that improved the survival of high-risk cardiac patients but put them at risk for serious neurological events. The Circulatory System Devices panel will

Generic versions of Yaz, Yasmin just as dangerous as brand name pills

Posted: July 19, 2011 Pharmaceutical

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer is facing thousands of lawsuits questioning the safety of its birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin. The pills, which contain a combination of drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol, have been found in studies to put women at greater

Yasmin birth control pills claim another young life

Posted: July 12, 2011 Pharmaceutical

The doctor who pronounced 24-year-old Tania Hayes dead told her mother Genevieve twice that what caused Tania’s fatal blood clot was Yasmin birth control pills. “Tania wasn’t sick,” her mother told ABC News/Australia.

Breast cancer risk outweighs HRT PAD benefit

Posted: July 11, 2011 Pharmaceutical

A new study suggests that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may decrease the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), even in women who had known risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and high cholesterol. However, researchers are not suggesting women use

Chantix significantly increases cardiovascular risks, according to another new study

Posted: July 8, 2011 Pharmaceutical

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration warned of newly discovered cardiovascular risks associated with Pfizer’s popular smoking-cessation drug Chantix. But it turns out those risks, which include higher occurrence of heart attack and other adverse cardiovascular events in Chantix

FDA warns doctors not to prescribe high doses of Zocor, Vytorin

Posted: June 10, 2011 Product Liability

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising doctors to use caution when prescribing 80 mg doses of the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin, known by the brand name Zocor, because of the risk for muscle injury. Simvastatin is also used in

More women choosing IUDs and implants over birth control pills

Posted: June 6, 2011 Pharmaceutical

More women are choosing contraceptives such as IUDs and implants, according to a study published in the June issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Data shows that using these forms of reversible contraception increased from 2.4 percent in 2002 to 5.6

FDA warns of elevated blood clot risk in Yaz birth control pills

Posted: June 1, 2011 Pharmaceutical

Two new studies showing an increased risk in venous thromboembolism (VTE), or blood clots in the lungs, in women who use Yaz birth control pills and oral contraceptives with similar hormone formulations, has resulted in a special drug safety notification

FDA to remove Avandia from retail pharmacies

Posted: May 27, 2011 Pharmaceutical

The diabetes drug Avandia will no longer be sold at retail pharmacies beginning in November because of the serious health risks it poses to patients. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted to severely restrict use of Avandia and related