Avandia Increases Heart Attack Risk by 43%

Avandia, a prescription medication prescribed by doctors to treat type 2 diabetes, increases the users risk of a heart attack by a whopping 43%, according to findings set to be released by the New England Journal of Medicine today. Avandia, the trade name for rosiglitazone, is used to treat diabetics. The authors of the study, Drs. Bruce Psaty and Curt Furberg, question the rationale for prescribing Avandia given the increased and serious risks. More than 2 million people take Avandia, generating $3.2 billion in sales for GlaxoSmithKline, according to the New York Times. The study noted that the risk of a heart attack increased 43% in patients taking Avandia, and the risk of dying from cardiovascular causes generally increased 64%. Clearly, something is wrong with the FDA's drug approval process when a drug being taken by 2 million users causes such a sharp increase in heart attacks, especially after the VIOXX debacle.