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Vioxx Stroke: Risks
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Recent clinical evidence from internal drug trials showed that when taking Vioxx, heart attack and stroke risks become two times more likely than the risk to the general population. The first study to hint at this threat was called VIGOR. VIGOR was a study conducted by Merck to test the effects of Vioxx on the gastrointestinal system. Researchers concluded that Vioxx caused less aggravation to the gastrointestinal track but that the risk of a Vioxx heart attack was greater than the risk for heart attack associated with taking original types of NSAID pain medication.
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Because of all of this mounting evidence regarding heart complication and stroke , Vioxx is no longer available on the market. Patients are allowed to return unused portions to Merck for a refund. If you are currently taking Vioxx, experts advise you to speak with your doctor about your treatment options as soon as possible. Though it is not likely that you will suffer heart problems or stroke , Vioxx use does increase your risk for these serious adverse health problems. Therefore, it is important to know the signs and symptoms of stroke.
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The Vioxx recall was initiated by the pharmaceutical company voluntarily after self-sponsored studies indicated that their product caused a significant increase in Vioxx stroke and heart attack side effects. In 2000, Merck initiated the APPROVe study, designed to measure the effects of Vioxx on colon polyps. The study came to an abrupt halt after eighteen months. At this time researchers discovered that patients taking Vioxx for at least eighteen months had double the risk of suffering life threatening side effects like a Vioxx stroke or heart attack.
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Instead of looking seriously into the Vioxx stroke risks associated with their medication, Merck decided to spin the research results in a different direction. The pharmaceutical giant argued that naproxen was actually somehow preventing heart attack and stroke in patients. This, Merck posited, was the reason it seemed as if Vioxx stroke risks seemed significant. Somehow this excuse was accepted, despite the fact that naproxen has never been associated with stroke or heart attack prevention properties.
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Vioxx has been shown to increase a patient’s risk of stroke occurrence. A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain stops. The two types of stroke are ischemic stroke, caused by a blood clot that blocks a blood vessel or artery in the brain, and a hemorrhagic stroke, caused when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and spills blood into the surrounding tissue. Brain cells in the area begin to die, either because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need to function, or they are killed by the rupture of the vessel and sudden spill of blood.
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The popular and heavily advertised arthritis drug Vioxx has been linked by researchers to an increase in the risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. On August 25, 2004, a study financed by the FDA found that people taking the recommended dose of Vioxx were at three times the risk of heart attack and sudden death compared to persons taking other non-steroidal painkillers such as ibuprofen. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released another study in November 2004 that said Vioxx may have contributed to an additional 27,785 heart attacks or deaths from 1999 to 2003.
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