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News Articles >> Avandia: From Healthy to Heart Attack
Avandia: From Healthy to Heart Attack
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| March 27, 2008. By Lucy Campbell |  RSS  Del.icio.us  Seed Newsvine  Facebook |
Breckenridge MI: Colin H. has type 2 diabetes. He has had diabetes for more than 10 years, and up until recently he controlled his blood sugar levels well with diet and exercise. So well, in fact, he didn't need any medications. But during the past couple of years his blood sugar levels started to increase slightly, so in February 2007 his doctor put him on Avandia. "On May 5, 2007 I had a heart attack," Colin said.
"Up to that point I hadn't had any problems whatsoever, no indication of heart problems- I was just fine. I was able to walk four miles a day, and I felt like I could have walked four miles the day I had my heart attack," Colin told Lawyers and Settlements. And, he didn't have any signs of potential trouble resulting from Avandia - such as swelling, which is a widely reported side effect.
"Then it hit me," he said. It was a Saturday morning and Colin, feeling pressure in his stomach but not realizing he was having a heart attack, took himself to the hospital - just in case. "I thought, well, if it's gas, it's gas, but it wasn't...and it wasn't going away."
To Colin's surprise, the doctors at the hospital began treating him for a heart attack. "They said they hoped it wasn't a heart attack but they were going to treat me for one anyway, and they started giving me medications. I was there until Monday, then they transferred me to St. Mary's in Saginaw to have a stent put in. My doctor said that had I not been in such good shape, that probably would have been it," he said.
Colin's doctor took him off Avandia immediately. "In fact it was the Sunday following my heart attack that the story about Avandia came out in the paper - that you're 43 percent more likely to have a heart attack on that drug," he said.
The information that Colin is referring to comes from a study published in May 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), which reports the 43 percent increased risk for heart attack, and a 64 percent increase in the incidence of death resulting from cardiac conditions in people taking Avandia, compared with placebo. The NEJM article followed on from changes to the labeling of Avandia, in 2006, which resulted from reports of macular edema, and peripheral edema -or swelling of the extremities- in diabetic patients, and increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients with congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes.
But Colin did not have congestive heart failure. Apart from his well-controlled type 2 diabetes, he was healthy. Why should he or his doctor be concerned about his taking Avandia?
"My doctor and I are friends. He didn't know anything about the risks of Avandia when he put me on it," Colin said. " In fact, he was quite surprised when he read about it. He said he had thought Avandia was a great medication, but he wouldn't be writing any prescriptions for it now."
What does the future hold for Colin? "I'm stable now, but I have a stent, so I have to take medication for that for the rest of my life." Colin is only 60 years old. But he's in good shape. Everyone in town agrees with that. "My wife - everyone we know - everyone in town - was shocked over this. They all said that I was the last person who they would have thought would have a heart attack," he said. "When I was originally diagnosed with diabetes I immediately went on a diabetic diet and I exercised. Within three months I was off all my diabetic medications. I am a very health conscious person."
Colin is one of the lucky ones. Many people have lost loved ones because the risks associated with Avandia were not publicly known. Some people are seeking legal action against the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, in the belief that they knew of the potential for serious adverse effects associated with the use of this diabetic medication, but did not act in the public's best interest by making the information available. "I think these pharmaceutical companies can use us as guinea pigs and we can't do anything about it," Colin said. Well, that remains to be seen.
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