Vioxx Increases Heart Attacks 50 Percent: FDA Study

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http://www.mercola.com/2004/sep/8/vioxx_heart_attacks.htm

 

Vioxx Increases Heart Attacks 50 Percent: FDA Study

 

A study has shown that patients who take the arthritis

drug Vioxx stood 50 percent higher risk of having a

heart attack or experiencing a fatal cardiac episode

than those taking Celebrex, another popular arthritis

drug.

 

The patients in the higher risk bracket for suffering

a heart attack or sudden cardiac death were those who

took the highest recommended daily dosage of Vioxx,

compared to those taking standard painkillers. Based

on these results, researchers cautioned people against

taking high dosages of Vioxx.

 

These findings raised concerns of researchers

particularly because sudden cardiac death is

considered the leading cause of death in the United

States.

 

Despite the consistent support of those defending the

safety of Vioxx, sales have remained stagnant for the

past few years. The risk of heart attack and cardiac

death occurs when patients continue to take the higher

dose of the drug beyond the approved treatment period

of five days.

 

News August 25, 2004

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

If you've forgotten, the market for pain relievers is

about $10 BILLION per year. Anytime you deal with

numbers that large there will inevitably be

corruption, greed and negative influences.

 

Why take the risk of serious side effects from

anti-inflammatories when you can create your own

anti-inflammatory?

 

Simply changing the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats

in your diet could do this. Folks, this is

non-controversial and there are dozens and dozens of

studies which clearly demonstrate this. Even

traditional medicine has firmly embraced these

concepts.

 

I review many controversial topics, but there is no

disagreement on this one, virtually everyone

acknowledges that omega-3 fats play a crucial role in

arthritis. If you need guidelines on how to use them

please review my comments on Dr. Connor's excellent

article.

 

The pain in many conditions can be quite severe.

Fortunately, there are simple basic solutions for over

95 percent of the conditions that you would be taking

these drugs for.

 

The most basic course of action is to follow the

eating plan.

 

For severe rheumatoid arthritis, I have found my

revision of Dr. Brown's protocol useful in producing

remission in more than 3,000 patients with RA I have

cared for over the past several years.

 

Related Articles:

 

Danger: Regular Aspirin or Tylenol Can Hurt Your

Kidneys as Evidenced By Professional Athletes

 

How Vioxx and Celebrex Increase Your Risk of Heart

Attack

 

40 Million Arthritics Pay $100 Billion Every Year

in U.S.

 

Arthritis Drug Linked to Heart Failure

 

Amazing Recovery From Dermatomyositis, a

Rheumatoid-Arthritis-Like Disease

 

Spirituality Linked to Better Health in Arthritis