The American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes has recently published a study done by a research subsidiary of healthcare insurance provider WellPoint, Inc. demonstrating an increased risk of heart attack, heart failure, and death in diabetes patients taking either Avandia or Actos. Avandia, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Actos, made by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, are very similar in that they both belong to the class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones (TZDs). This class of drugs is designed to raise the body’s insulin sensitivity in adult Type 2 diabetes patients.
Results of Actos/Avandia Heart Disease Study
Before this study, Avandia had already been linked to an increased risk of heart problems. Though the FDA decided not to pull Avandia off the market, sales have since plummeted due to patients’ fears of heart attack andwrongful death. The WellPoint study now shows that these same risks associated with Avandia are clearly present in patient taking Actos.
Adjusting for variables such as age, gender, and previous heart conditions, researchers found that among nearly thirty-thousand patients taking Actos or Avandia between 2001 and 2005, the risk of heart attack, congestive heart failure, and death was very similar between the two drugs. Of the patients studied, 602 Avandia patients and 599 Actos patients suffered one or more of these three outcomes. Exactly the same number of patients taking Avandia died as those taking Actos, 217.
Actos Pharmaceutical Injury Lawsuits
Patients with heart disease or heart attacks who have taken Actos or Avandia may be eligible to begin litigation under product liability law or possibly evenmedical malpractice law. If you have a loved one or family member who lost his or her life after taking Actos or Avandia, it may even be possible to initiate a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the defective drug.
To understand your legal options, you may need the help of a qualified pharmaceutical injury attorney. If you or a member of your family have suffered a serious cardiac event after taking either Actos or Avandia, seek competent legal counsel very soon as there may be a time limit for any potential pharmaceutical injury lawsuit.
For a consultation on your pharmaceutical injury claim, please contact a qualified pharmaceutical injury attorney right away.
